The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies

The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies
Written byPeter Morgan
Directed byRoger Michell
Starring
Music byDan Jones
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerKevin Loader
CinematographyMike Eley
EditorKristina Hetherington
Running time114 minutes[1]
Production companyCarnival Films
Original release
NetworkITV
Release10 December (2014-12-10) –
11 December 2014 (2014-12-11)

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, written by Peter Morgan, and stars Jason Watkins as Jefferies. The title is taken from The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll, a fictional account of media defamation.[2]

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.[3] Jefferies later gives evidence at the Leveson inquiry into the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

Cast

Production

The screenplay was written by Peter Morgan. The Bristol Post reported that Jefferies had read and approved the script, and supported the project.[4] The drama was produced by Carnival Films and Television and aired on 10 and 11 December 2014 on ITV.[5]

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.[6]

In 2016 it won two awards at the RTS Awards for Craft in Drama: Best Editing and Sound Fiction.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "THE LOST HONOUR OF CHRISTOPHER JEFFERIES (12)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  2. ^ "The fate of Christopher Jefferies shows that it can still be dangerous". The Independent. London. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Carnival Films, The Lost honour of Christopher Jefferies". Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Filming continues in Clifton, Bristol, on Christopher Jefferies TV drama". Bristol Post. Local World. 15 November 2013. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  5. ^ Moss, Stephen (7 December 2014). "Peter Morgan: when I saw Christopher Jefferies I thought they'd got their man". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  6. ^ "The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies scoops two BAFTAs". Bristol Post. Local World. 10 May 2015. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.