Steve Coogan’s TV maker returns to profit before High Court settlement
Steve Coogan’s production company returned to profit ahead of settling a High Court defamation claim, it has been revealed.
Baby Cow Productions has reported a pre-tax profit of £358,628 for the year to 31 March, 2025.
The profit comes after the business posted a pre-tax loss of £374,081 for the prior 12 months.
New accounts filed with Companies House also show its revenue rose from £1.9m to £2.6m over the same period.
Baby Cow Productions was set up by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal in 1999.
It is now majority-owned by BBC Studios while Coogan retains a minority stake.
Its TV work has included the original run of Gavin & Stacey, The Trip, The Mighty Boosh and Alan Partridge.
The company has also made films such as The Ballad of Wallis Island, Philomena and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.
High Court claim settled over The Lost King
The accounts come after Steve Coogan, Baby Cow and Pathe Productions settled with a university worker, after a court ruled that his portrayal in a film about the discovery of a Richard III’s remains did have a defamatory portrayal of the academic.
The comedian, who wrote the film The Lost King, and the two production companies were sued by Richard Taylor.
In October 2025, it was announced that Mr Taylor, who had been unhappy about the way his character had been portrayed on screen, had settled the claim with all parties.
As a result, Mr Taylor was to receive “substantial damages”.
The Lost King told the story of the search for the Plantagenet monarch under a Leicester council car park in 2012.
As a result of the settlement, the film will now carry a message at the beginning, and the defamatory comments will not be repeated.
The High Court action was launched by Mr Taylor who claimed the film had made him appear “misogynistic” and “weasel-like”.
Mr Taylor was the deputy registrar of the University of Leicester at the time and was later played in the film by actor Lee Ingleby.