Steve Coogan facing libel claim over ‘weasel-like’ portrayal in Richard III film

Richard Taylor, formerly deputy registrar of the University of Leicester, is bringing legal action over a portrayal of him in the film The Lost King.
PA Archive
Jess Glass29 February 2024
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Steve Coogan is being sued for libel by a university official over his “devious” and “weasel-like” portrayal in a film about the discovery of Richard III’s remains, the High Court has heard.

Mr Coogan was a writer and producer of the The Lost King, which follows Phillipa Langley and her search to find the controversial king’s skeleton.

The lost remains of the Plantagenet king were found in a Leicester car park in 2012, more than 500 years after his death.

Richard Taylor, formerly deputy registrar of the University of Leicester, is bringing legal action against Mr Coogan, his production company Baby Cow, and Pathe Productions over his portrayal in the film.

At a hearing on Thursday, which Mr Coogan did not attend, William Bennett KC said his client Mr Taylor was presented as being “dismissive, patronising and misogynistic” towards Ms Langley.

Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

The barrister said in written submissions: “The relevant context is the ‘good versus bad’ narrative, which runs through the film.

“Ms Langley is portrayed as the gutsy underdog heroine struggling against opposition and the claimant as the arrogant villain.

“He not only takes steps to make sure that people do not know about her role but takes the credit, which was rightfully hers, for himself and the university.”

Mr Taylor, who is now chief operating officer at Loughborough University, was also shown as a “devious, weasel-like person” and a “suited bean-counter”, Mr Bennett told the High Court in London.

Richard III’s body was taken to Leicester after the Battle of Bosworth and put on display to show he was truly dead, and he was given a simple Christian burial (University of Leicester/PA)
PA Media

The barrister later said Mr Taylor was portrayed as “mocking” Richard III’s disability and “linking physical deformity with wickedness or moral failings”.

Mr Coogan and the two production companies are defending the libel claim.

Andrew Caldecott KC, for the Alan Partridge star and companies, said in written submissions: “It is a feature film, not a documentary.

“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.”

Mr Caldecott said the film states it was “based on a true story”, adding: “It is not a literal portrayal of exact words…. and would be understood as putting forward Ms Langley’s perception.”

The barrister denied Mr Taylor is shown to be sexist or misogynist, adding his “concern is about Ms Langley’s amateur status and lack of historical expertise, and not her gender”.

He continued: “Whilst the film is clearly strongly critical of Mr Taylor and the university for sidelining Ms Langley at the dig and after the discovery of the body and not giving her sufficient credit, his clear motive is to exploit the discovery to further the university’s commercial interests.

“No reasonable viewer would conclude that his motive was sexism or misogynism.”

Mr Caldecott also said Mr Taylor was not portrayed as mocking Richard III’s disability, “and certainly not mocking disabled people in general”.

Judge Jaron Lewis will give a ruling on preliminary issues in the claim at a later date.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in