The Gentlemen star says Meghan Markle casting rumours are 'hot air' – so where did they come from?

After it was confirmed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were leaving their Montecito home and returning to live in the UK, there was one question on all of our lips: why? After all, the couple famously did not enjoy their time as working members of the royal family living here, and referred to their journey away from their lives there as a "freedom flight".

One of the most newsworthy motivations for their return was that the Duchess of Sussex had been offered a role in The Gentlemen season two, before the renewal was even confirmed. 

This story seemed to have firm foundations, with reputable sources including Deadline reporting that the royal had preliminary conversations about a role in the Netflix show, and such a move would certainly have made sense for their return to the UK.

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However, it appears now that the reports were nothing more than "hot air", which is how the show's star Theo James described them at the season two premiere. He told Town & Country: "I think that was mainly a lot of hot air. At the moment, we're just trying to get as many eyes on season two, and then season three will happen soon."

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He continued to strongly deny Meghan's appearance in season two to the Press Association, adding: "I think they're spurious rumours. I think she'd fit in well because she's actually a member of the royal family. But no, I think the practicalities of that are impossible."

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With Team Sussex failing to confirm any of the reports either, the stream of news about it has left me scratching my head (while watching The Gentlemen), especially as Netflix boss Manda Levin gave such a vague response to the reports at the Edinburgh TV Festival, saying: "All bets are off," in regard to the news.

So where did it come from, and what happened for it to be so dismissed by The Gentlemen cast since?

Meghan and Harry have had a close relationship with Netflix over the years, with the streamer producing the couple's famous documentary about their departure from the royal family, a documentary about polo, and, most recently, Meghan's lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan.

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As such, it is more than feasible that Meghan did have a chat with Guy Ritchie about a potential role, only for it not to work out.

Indeed, former editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker Tina Brown claimed that she was even dropped after a public backlash, writing on Substack: "I learned this morning that the casting of Meghan Markle in season two of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen has been withdrawn. The backlash in the UK was so intense, it became untenable to go forward."

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However, it was a conversation between Richard Osman and Marina Hyde on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast that I found the most compelling as to where these reports might have come from.

The pair suggested that rather than her role in The Gentlemen being confirmed, the news was actually a signal to producers and directors to say that the door isn't completely closed for her return to acting, should the right offer come along.

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Indeed, a source close to the family previously told HELLO! that she was considering a return to acting, saying: "There have been inquiries in the entertainment space recently and things that she is considering, but nothing is firm yet. There are only conversations."

© Vito Amati/The David Foster Foundation via Getty Images

While I know Meghan has her naysayers, as well as a legion of supporters, I personally think a return to the world of acting - which made her a household name and made her very successful well before meeting Prince Harry - could be a brilliant move for her. And, after all of this free press for The Gentlemen (which is now firmly at the top of the Netflix charts), it could also be a brilliant move for whichever show or movie takes her fancy first. Bridgerton, anyone?