Philippa Langley and Steve Coogan discuss portrayal of ME in The Lost King

Philippa Langley, whose search for the remains of Richard III forms the centre of new movie The Lost King, says she was keen to be honest with the writers about her life with ME. Myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, is a long-term condition which can cause extreme tiredness, extended recovery time after physical activity and problems with sleeping.

The condition is commonly stigmatised and seldom depicted on screen, with those who live with chronic fatigue often experiencing prejudice from those who think they're just being lazy.

Langley, who is played by Sally Hawkins in the movie, told Yahoo that she initially wasn't sure whether to tell writers Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope about her often misunderstood condition.

The Lost King is in UK cinemas from 7 October.

Video transcript

TOM BEASLEY: Philippa, I wanted to ask you, I think one of the fascinating things is, I'm not sure I've seen another movie tackle [INAUDIBLE] at all. Was that something that was important for you to make sure it was in the movie?

PHILIPPA LANGLEY: Only my very close friends and family know about it. And I did hum and ha about whether I mentioned it to Steve and Jeff, whether it's a thing. And I thought I've got to just give them everything. And they will make their own decisions about what they feel is important, and what isn't important.

And when I mentioned it, Steve said, look, this might be important. Because this is a physical condition that's ridiculed and laughed at. But not so much now. But way back then, it was the eye-rolling condition. You're just a [? showgirl-type ?] thing.

STEVE COOGAN: And there's a parallel with being judged unfairly in that regard with Richard III. And he having been judged unfairly, and caricatured. So we thought it was important to bring that to the fore.