'The Lost King'

Source: Warner Bros

‘The Lost King’

Steve Coogan and production companies Baby Cow Productions and Pathe Productions have settled a defamation case brought by university academic Richard Taylor over Stephen Frears’ 2022 feature The Lost King, co-written, produced by and starring Coogan.

Taylor was successful in his claim against the filmmakers, in a ruling passed down by the UK’s High Court on Monday, October 27.

He has been awarded damages, and a clarification message will be added to the start of the film, with the defamatory comments not repeated, according to reports by BBC News.

The clarification, which will be the only change to the film, will read: “Whilst in this film there is a character called Richard Taylor who is shown to be an employee of the University of Leicester, the portrayal of him is fictional and does not represent the actions of the real Mr Taylor, who was employed by the University of Leicester as its Deputy Registrar, and acted with integrity during the events portrayed.”

The card carrying the clarification will run at the start of the film, after an existing title card that says ‘Based on a true story. Her story’ – in reference to Philippa Langley, the lead character of The Lost King and on whose book the story is based.

”As part of the agreement, no material editorial changes will be made to the film beyond an onscreen clarification at the beginning of the film,” said a statement from Coogan, Baby Cow and Pathe.

“I’m really pleased that we have finally established that the film is a defamatory portrayal of me, baseless in its depiction of me and a distortion of the search for Richard III,” said Taylor, speaking to the BBC outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

“And I don’t let that detract from what was a fantastic piece of teamwork, a collaborative experience where university academics and amateurs came together to search for Richard III. But it’s fantastic now that we have established in court that The Lost King is a misleading, defamatory, untrue portrayal of what happened in Leicester back in 2012.”

The film told the story of the search for the remains of British monarch Richard III under a Leicester council car park in 2012.

Taylor had launched the High Court action claiming the film had made him appear “misogynistic” and “weasel-like”. The case was going to proceed to trial until this settlement of the claim between all parties.

In June this year, Judge Jaron Lewis ruled the film portrayed Taylor as having “knowingly misrepresented facts to the media and the public” about the discovery, and as being “smug, unduly dismissive and patronising”, which could be defamatory.

Pathe, Baby Cow, Coogan response 

A joint statement from Pathe Productions, Baby Cow Productions and Coogan read, “As a distributor and producer recognised for bringing complex, real-life stories to audiences, we are deeply aware of the responsibility that comes with such portrayals and approach each project with care, integrity, and a commitment to authenticity.

“We remain incredibly proud of this film and are pleased this matter has now been settled.” 

Daniel Jennings, defamation partner at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, which represented Taylor, described the settlement as “a defamation David and Goliath moment”.

“Individuals often feel unable to speak up against large corporations and well-known personalities, but this win demonstrates that there is recourse when wrongs have been committed,” said Jennings.

“We live in an era of documentaries, podcasts and very public investigative journalism and there’s a growing trend for film and television productions to be labelled as ‘true accounts’ to grab audience attention and generate media buzz around new releases. Mr Taylor’s win should act as a real warning for anyone looking to use those tactics.”

The Lost King opened to £350,258 in the UK and Ireland through Warner Bros in October 2022, going on to gross £1.6m in total. The film is based on Philippa Langley and Michael Jones’s book The King’s Grave: The Search For Richard III, adapted by Coogan and Jeff Pope; produced by Coogan, Christine Langan and Dan Winch; and starred Sally Hawkins and Harry Lloyd alongside Coogan.

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