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Steve Coogan and makers of The Lost King sued by academic over his portrayal in the film

The former deputy registrar of the University of Leicester claims the 2022 movie presented him as ‘dismissive, patronising and misogynistic’

Taylor, who left the university in 2013, is shown in the film as antagonistic towards amateur historian Philippa Langley, played by Sally Hawkins, who spearheads the dig and is sidelined by the academic community when they seek to take credit for the discovery. In October 2022, Taylor told the BBC: “I’m portrayed as kind of a bullying, cynical, double-crossing, devious manipulator which is bad, 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.” In a press release about the university’s growth, pro-vice chancellor Philip Baker said: “We were involved with the successful unearthing, identification and reinterment of Richard III and now we’re leading the Dickens Code project to decipher the author’s shorthand texts.”

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