Steve Coogan and the makers of The Lost King sued for libel by Richard Taylor over his portrayal in the film

Richard Taylor, a former deputy registrar at the University of Leicester, is suing the makers of The Lost King for libel over his portrayal in the 2022 film, claiming to be presented as “dismissive, patronising and misogynistic.”

Centred around the 2012 discovery of Richard III’s remains in a Leicester car park, The Lost King depicts Taylor as a villain in the story of Philippa Langley, an amateur historian who leads the excavation and is eventually sidelined by the academic community.

Taylor’s barrister, William Bennett KC, claimed that his client was shown to be “weasel-like” and “devious” during Thursday’s hearing in London. Taylor will be suing writers Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope alongside director Stephen Frears, the film’s production company Baby Cow and distributors Pathe.

Following the movie’s release in 2022, the University of Leicester released a statement contesting Taylor’s portrayal, saying that the film “does not in any way resemble the reality during this period … Our records point to a colleague engaging constructively, collegiately, fairly and professionally throughout the project.”

Andrew Caldecott KC, the representative for Baby Cow and Pathe, argued that a feature film does not require the same accuracy as documentary-style films, saying, “It would be clear to the ordinary reasonable viewer that the film is not a documentary, it is a dramatisation of events. The concept of fictional films based on real events is not a new one.”

Caldecott went on to deny the presence of misogyny or gender-based discrimination in Taylor’s portrayal, explaining that his character’s actions were based purely on Langley’s amateur status and lack of historical expertise.

“I’m portrayed as kind of a bullying, cynical, double-crossing, devious manipulator which is bad,” Taylor told BBC in 2022, “but then when you add to that I behave in a sexist way and a way that seems to mock Richard III’s disabilities, you start to get into the realm of defamation.”

Taylor is currently the chief operating officer at Loughborough University.