Theo James, star of Netflix's The Gentlemen, has responded to rumours that the Duchess of Sussex could join the show. Meghan, wife of Prince Harry, was reportedly in talks to continue her return to acting with an appearance in a possible third series of the Guy Ritchie action comedy.
Speaking to the Press Association alongside co-star Kaya Scodelario, James said: "Those kind of big, spurious rumours, I mean I had heard one that Harry was going to join." When Scodelario asked "Harry Styles?", James replied: "No, the prince."
Co-star jokes about casting gossip
Scodelario added: "We should just start making ones up. Shows how little I know; I thought he was telling the truth." James joked that Harry had been asked to join the third series.
Meghan, who made her name in the US legal drama Suits before her marriage, recently acted for the first time in nearly a decade in a cameo as herself in the comedy Close Personal Friends, starring Lily Collins and Brie Larson.
Sussexes return to UK
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, returned to the UK last week to begin a new life after six years in the US. The family is said to be settling in the UK for an "extended period" amid speculation about how long they will stay and where they will live.
Meghan was reportedly in talks for a role in a possible third season, although the series has yet to be renewed, according to Deadline.
Second season goes deeper
James said the show's second season, airing now on Netflix, would "delve deeper" into its characters. He explained: "The reason for doing more, the only way to do more, was to go deeper and darker, and more complex, because otherwise it's a kind of repeat."
The series follows Duke Eddie Horniman (James) as he unexpectedly inherits his late father's country estate, which is home to an underground cannabis empire. It is a spin-off from Ritchie's blockbuster of the same name, about an American drug lord looking to sell his cannabis empire in England.
A leading talent manager told the Press Association in August that directors and producers will "absolutely want to meet" Meghan if she returns to acting. Professor Jonathan Shalit, chairman of InterTalent Rights Group, said: "If Meghan decided tomorrow that she seriously wanted to act again, directors and producers would absolutely want to meet her and audition her. Would she automatically be handed every role she wanted? Of course not. Nobody is. But would doors open? Absolutely."
Season two of The Gentlemen is available on Netflix now.
