A Perthshire postmistress, who spoke out about her battles with the Post Office and the Horizon scandal, has been celebrated among the Jeremy Vine Show’s heroes of 2024.
The BBC Radio 2 presenter invited Marlene Wood onto his programme as he asked listeners to look back on their highlights of the year.
And he reduced the Comrie postmistress to tears of joy when he introduced composer Debbie Wiseman OBE.
The chart-topper revealed she has written a new piece of music, named Marlene’s Theme, in her honour.
Wiseman said she wanted to pay tribute to Marlene’s “defiance and her determination to find the courage to move forward”.
Marlene told The Courier she was incredibly moved by the gesture.
“What a way to finish the year off,” she said.
Locals and listeners rallied to save Comrie post office
Marlene was on the brink of ruin when she first called the Jeremy Vine Show in the spring.
The ITV show Mr Bates v The Post Office had just brought the Horizon scandal into living rooms across the UK.
But Marlene reminded listeners that postmasters were still facing a daily struggle to keep their heads above water.
She also told The Courier how the business had brought her to her lowest ebb.
Her van had broken down. She had no money to restock her shop with gifts and groceries and the bank was refusing to bail her out.
Her marriage had ended. She owed family members thousands of pounds. And she was still dealing with discrepancies in the Horizon computer system virtually every day.
Her honesty resulted in an outpouring of support.
Jeremy Vine listeners sent donations and messages of encouragement.
And locals in Comrie started a crowdfunder which raised more than £5,000 to get the village post office back onto a stable footing.
Nine months on, Marlene is still the Comrie postmistress.
But she has also been appointed manager of Crieff’s new banking hub.
And she says the support she received gave her the strength to go.
Star praises Marlene’s public spirit
Jeremy Vine praised Marlene and the community for the way they’d turned her fortunes around when she appeared on his show on Monday.
“Her back was to the wall,” he said.
“She was in debt. She was at a real low point.
“But she didn’t want to give up because she felt like the local community depended on the post office being there.
“She is a very, very public-spirited lady.”
Conversation