University of Leicester academic who helped uncover his remains Richard III of England filed suit against the makers of the film “The Lost King” claiming he was portrayed as a “bully”.

The actor Alan Partridge co-wrote the script with Steve Coogan and starred in the 2022 film.

One of the academics who participated in the search for the remains of Richard III, was Richard Taylor, who works at the University of Leicester. Taylor has now sued for damages for the way he was portrayed in the film.

A character bearing Taylor’s name appears in the film, but according to the academic’s claims, he is presented as “a bully, a cynic, a traitor, a treacherous, an exploiter, something that is evil”.

“But add to that my behaving in a sexist way and a way that seems to make fun of Richard III’s disabilities, and we enter the realm of defamation.” Taylor told The Sun newspaper.

The movie “The Lost King” stars Sally Hawkins as Philippa Langley, amateur historian who, according to the film’s description, defied the country’s most prominent academics and managed to locate the burial place of King Richard III, revising the official story around his person.

When the film was released, the University of Leicester argued that claims that its staff sidelined Langley and took credit for the discovery were far from the truth.

He also stated that none of his staff were asked for information about the film and that the way Taylor is portrayed is inaccurate. “We offered to help the creators of the film and were ignored and we can prove it,” they explained in statements last October.

Producer Dan Winds claimed he had been in contact with the university, and Coogan told BBC Radio 4’s Today that if the university had been generous to Philippa from the start and given her the center stage she deserves, the film would not have been necessary .