Watch Sally Hawkins and Steven Coogan in The Lost King trailer

The Lost King reunites the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning creative team behind box office and critical hit, Philomena – director Stephen Frears and writers Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope – and stars Oscar nominee and Golden Globe-winning actress Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water, Blue Jasmine, Happy-Go-Lucky) in the lead role of Philippa Langley, alongside Steve Coogan (Stan & Ollie, Philomena) in the role of Philippa’s husband, John Langley.

THE LOST KING tells the remarkable true story of how one ‘ordinary’ woman discovered the long-lost remains of King Richard III. The film will be released in UK cinemas nationwide this October, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the discovery:

In 2012, having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath a carpark in Leicester. The search had been orchestrated by an amateur historian, Philippa Langley, whose unrelenting research had been met with incomprehension by her friends and family and with scepticism by experts and academics. THE LOST KING is the life-affirming true story of a woman who refused to be ignored and who took on the country’s most eminent historians, forcing them to think again about one of the most controversial kings in England’s history.

The film is produced by Steve Coogan, Christine Langan (The Queen) and Dan Winch (A Very English Scandal) and is a Baby Cow production for Pathé, BBC Film, Ingenious Media and Screen Scotland. Executive Producers are Cameron McCracken and Jenny Borgars for Pathé; Rose Garnett for BBC Film; Andrea Scarso for Ingenious; Jeff Pope and Philippa Langley. The film was Co-produced by Wendy Griffin.

The Lost King will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9th September before being released in cinemas on 7th October.

Pathé will distribute the film in the UK, France and Switzerland and will handle sales throughout the rest of the world.