''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'' is a 2014 British television film. It tells the real-life story of retired schoolteacher Christopher Jefferies, who was questioned by police as a suspect in the murder of Joanna Yeates. He was vilified by the press, partly because of his eccentric appearance, even after he had been released on bail by the police. The film was directed by

Roger Michell Roger Michell (5 June 1956 – 22 September 2021) was a South African-born British theatre, television and film director. He was best known for directing films such as ''Notting Hill (film), Notting Hill'' and ''Venus (2006 film), Venus'', as ...

, written by Peter Morgan, and stars

Jason Watkins Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also ...

as Jefferies. The title is taken from ''

The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum ''The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, or: how violence develops and where it can lead'' (original German title: , ) is a 1974 novel by Heinrich Böll. The story deals with the sensationalism of tabloid news and the political climate of panic ove ...

'' by Heinrich Böll, a fictional account of media defamation.

Plot

The drama begins the day before Yeates’ disappearance, and follows the innocent Jefferies through his arrest, release and subsequent isolation as his un-sought fame profoundly affects his life. Five weeks later the real killer, neighbour Vincent Tabak, is finally arrested. Jefferies later gives evidence at the Leveson inquiry into the ''News of the World'' phone hacking scandal.

Cast

as Christopher Jefferies *

Shaun Parkes Shaun Parkes (born 9 February 1973) is an English actor. Biography At 16, Parkes enrolled at Seltec College to study drama. Two years later, he was accepted into RADA. Having acted in both theatre and television support roles, Parkes made his ...

as Paul Okebu * Ben Caplan as Charles Chapman * Nathalie Armin as Melissa Chapman * Joe Sims as Vincent Tabak *

Jennifer Higham Jennifer Higham (born 26 August 1984 in England) is a British actress who has played numerous roles in theatre, television and film. Higham attended Misbourne School in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. She has appeared in '' Doctors'', '' Cro ...

as Tanja * Matthew Barker as Greg Reardon * Carla Turner as Joanna Yeates *

Peter Polycarpou Peter Polycarpou is an English-Cypriot actor, best known for playing Chris Theodopolopodous in the television comedy series '' Birds of a Feather'' and Louis Charalambos in ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies''. Early life Polycarpou w ...

as Louis Charalambous *

Anna Maxwell Martin Anna Maxwell Martin (born Anna Charlotte Martin; 27 May 1977),Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2006 listed birth name as ''Anna Charlotte Martin''; Registration year 1977; Registration District Beverley, Yorkshire som ...

as Janine * Colin Mace as Peter Stanley *

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

as himself (uncredited)

Production

The screenplay was written by Peter Morgan. The ''

Bristol Post The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...

'' reported that Jefferies had read and approved the script, and supported the project. The drama was produced by Carnival Films and Television and aired on 10 and 11 December 2014 on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Critical reception

In May 2015, it won two awards at the 2015 British Academy Television Awards—best mini-series for the programme itself and best actor for Watkins's portrayal of Jefferies. In 2016 it won two awards at the

RTS Awards The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

for Craft in Drama: Best Editing and Sound Fiction.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lost Honor of Christopher Jefferies, The 2014 British television series debuts 2014 British television series endings 2010s British crime drama television series ITV television dramas 2010s British television miniseries English-language television shows Television shows shot in Bristol