Steve Coogan Settles Libel Claim Over ‘The Lost King’; Academic Who Sued Awarded “Substantial Damages” After “Smug, Dismissive” Portrayal

Steve Coogan has settled a libel claim over 2022’s The Lost King after a university academic sued over his depiction in the film.

The British actor-comedian wrote and starred in the drama following the hunt for King Richard III’s remains in 2012. But a University of Leicester employee named Richard Taylor later sued Coogan —as well as his production outfit Baby Cow and Pathé Productions —over what he called a defamatory, “misogynistic” and “weasel-like” portrayal. Taylor, then the deputy registrar of the University of Leicester, was played in the film by English actor Lee Ingleby.

In June, a U.K. judge ruled that the film portrayed the claimant having “knowingly misrepresented facts to the media and the public” about the discovery, and as being “smug, unduly dismissive and patronizing,” which could be defamatory. The case was set to go to trial.

But on Monday, it was announced Taylor was successful in his claim and had settled with the parties involved, including Coogan. He is to be awarded “substantial damages” following the court ruling. “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,” Taylor told BBC News outside the London court.

In The Lost King, Sally Hawkins stars as Philippa Langley, the real-life researcher who led the initiative and was eventually successful in locating Richard III’s centuries-old skeleton under an English parking lot.

Coogan plays John Langley, Philippa’s estranged husband. Ingleby’s portrayal of Richard Taylor is written as initially dismissive of Langley’s project but who later is an enthusiastic supporter, though he omits Langley from the press conference announcing the results to the world.

Following the ruling, Coogan stressed in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that the focus be kept on Langley’s achievements in finding Richard III’s remains. “It is unfortunate that due to [Langley’s] ill health we were unable to put evidence before the court so that the judge could independently come to a decision on the matter, which I would have preferred,” he said.

“Philippa Langley instigated the search for Richard III. Philippa Langley insisted on the dig in the Northern area of the social services carpark where the remains were found. Philippa Langley raised the majority of the money for his exhumation — if it wasn’t for Philippa Langley, Richard III would still lying under a carpark in Leicester,” he continued. “It is her name that will be remembered in relation to the discovery of the lost king, long after Richard Taylor has faded into obscurity.”

The only changes to the film, he added, will be a front card following the existing card which says that the film is a true story. “[It will say] PHILIPPA LANGLEY’S STORY,” he explained. “That is the story I wanted to tell, and I am happy I did.”

“I won’t be commenting further at this stage as I consult with lawyers on the inflammatory comments made by Richard Taylor about me personally,” Coogan said.