A WOMBWELL man behind the dig that unearthed the remains of Richard III will receive ‘substantial damages’ from Steve Coogan and production companies over his portrayal in a film about the discovery.
Richard Taylor was the deputy registrar at Leicester University when he co-ordinated the historic excavation of a council car park to find the remains in 2012.
The skeleton was confirmed as the body of Richard III and a film, The Lost King, was released in 2022 supposedly telling the story.
The production was spearheaded by Steve Coogan and delivered by Pathe Productions and followed the perspective of Philippa Langley, an amateur historian, and featured the Wombwell man.
In June last year, Judge Jaron Lewis ruled that the 2022 film portrayed Mr Taylor as having ‘knowingly misrepresented facts to the media and the public’ about the find, and as being ‘smug, unduly dismissive and patronising’, which had a defamatory meaning.
It was due to go to trial this week but it was announced on Monday that the parties had settled the claim.
The film will be changed and the defamatory comments will not be repeated.
Richard, who is now the chief operating officer at Loughborough University, said: “The producers of ’The Lost King’, including Steve Coogan, have finally accepted that their film is an untrue and defamatory portrayal of me and the search for Richard III.
“It is a reckless hit job on my reputation and that of my academic colleagues.
“The producers will pay substantial damages to me and cover the very significant costs of my legal team, and have agreed to make key changes to the film.
“Whilst it is clear to me that the Defendants were misled as to the events of the discovery, they made a deliberate choice to accept those accounts, failing to speak or check basic facts.
“This irresponsible failure erased the critical contribution that my academic colleagues made in leading the archaeological search and conducting the scientific analysis that led to the discovery of Richard III.
“Our work is twisted into a false caricature of university elitism, ivory-towers and self-interest.
“That Steve Coogan, a man who has publicly condemned the media for misrepresentation and intrusion including, stridently, at the Leveson Inquiry, should be at the centre of broadcasting defamatory misrepresentations about others, in my opinion is hypocrisy of the highest order.”
Daniel Jennings, who represented Mr Taylor, said it had been a long battle but slammed the production companies for taking ‘the shine’ off the discovery.
He said: “This is a defamation David and Goliath moment and confirms what Mr Taylor has always believed - that his portrayal in ‘The Lost King’ was damaging, harmful and untrue. 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.
“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 law is very clear and there are defined routes to compensation for individuals who find themselves misrepresented.
“It’s been a long battle for Mr Taylor which has ended successfully, however it’s hard to ignore the fact that the shine has been taken off what should have been a moment of celebration for one of the country’s greatest archaeological discoveries.”
