Two weekends ago, the British media could speak of little else other than “the Duchess of Sussex is getting a role in The Gentlemen Season 3!” Even a cursory examination of this rumor revealed a convoluted game of telephone and a heavy streak of anti-Sussex bias. Basically, all anyone could really prove is that The Gentlemen Season 2 comes out in early September and Guy Ritchie will soon begin writing the third season, which may or may not include a role for Meghan. That’s it. There’s no offer, no contract, no nailed-down role, no script.

One outlet accused the all-powerful Meghan for pushing these rumors as a “cynical” tactic to get some acting jobs. I pointed out that it was far more likely a cynical ploy from the other direction – that The Gentlemen’s producers and Netflix were using Meghan’s name to promote the second season. I even wrote: “Now Theo James and the rest of the cast will field questions about Meghan’s possible involvement during their press junket, and every time they say anything about Meghan, it will make international headlines (especially if they say something snide).” I hate that I was right, btw. But I called it.

Netflix’s buzzy show about a drug-dealing Duke, The Gentlemen, returns tomorrow, and star Theo James is over all the rumors swirling about Meghan Markle joining season three. When T&C asked James, who plays Eddie, the 13th Duke of Halstead, in the series, about the possibility of a certain ex-royal being on the show, he replied with a smile, “Yes, Fergie is joining. She’ll be playing my love interest.”

He continued, “No, I think that was mainly a lot of hot air,” referring to the ongoing coverage of the Duchess of Sussex’s potential role in the series. “At the moment, we’re just trying to get as many eyes on season two, and then season three will happen soon. But in terms of story, we have the overarching ambition of where we’re going to go. We’re going to expand the world, go to different countries. But in terms of the minutiae, I mean, it’s still very much up in the air.”

[From Town & Country]

Think of how easily he could have said something like “I have no idea, I don’t think the next season has been written yet, so you’ll have to talk to Guy.” Low drama, no soundbyte, nothing snide. Instead, it’s as I predicted – they used Meghan’s name to hype the show ahead of the premiere, knowing that the cast would be asked about her during their junket. And would you look at that, more headlines than this show has ever gotten before. Theo was asked about Meghan’s potential casting during another junket interview, and he also “joked” that Prince Harry would play his love interest too. This whole stupid story is going to keep going for months – I guarantee that the Daily Mail will use “a lot of hot air” repeatedly. This was always the play.

"Prince Harry is playing one of my love interests." 😆 Theo James reacts to rumors about Meghan Markle joining #TheGentlemen Season 3. Plus, he addresses removing himself from the race for Bond. pic.twitter.com/LCjaAmdHZM

— ExtraTV (@extratv) September 2, 2026

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.