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The actor joked that Sarah Ferguson would play his love interest

Theo James has dismissed speculation about Meghan Markle appearing in The Gentlemen with a cheeky quip about a different extended member of the Royal Family.

Asked about the prospect of the Duchess of Sussex joining the Netflix drama's third series, the actor grinned and offered an alternative.

"Yes, Fergie is joining. She'll be playing my love interest," he told Town & Country.

Mr James, who portrays Eddie, the 13th Duke of Halstead, in Guy Ritchie's crime caper, then made clear he considers the Meghan rumours to be overblown.

"No, I think that was mainly a lot of hot air," he said of the persistent coverage surrounding the Duchess's supposed involvement in the show.

The rumours gained traction after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's return to Britain and reports that the Duchess was considering a comeback to acting.

Deadline subsequently reported that she was in discussions about a role in the third series of the Mr Ritchie-helmed show.

GB News understood at the time that no part had ever been formally offered, but that Meghan was only involved in early discussions.

However, Netflix's UK scripted chief Manda Levin fuelled further intrigue at the Edinburgh TV Festival last week when she said: "All bets are off," regarding Meghan joining the show.

Such a high-profile casting move would generate significant publicity for Netflix and could draw fresh audiences. The Sussexes already have a first-look deal with the streaming giant, with multiple film and television projects in development.

Mr James has his own ideas about where the series should venture next. The second run delves into the world of Italian aristocracy, and the actor is keen for the third to explore the Middle East.

"It's rich culturally and it's complex because of, obviously, all the reasons we know, from wealth to war, and it fits in very well with the concept of The Gentlemen," he said. On a more personal level, he admitted he would love filming to take him to the south of France.

The actor also reflected on why audiences remain drawn to tales of the privileged elite misbehaving.

"People are fascinated by the idea of wealth and how wealth can corrupt people, ultimately. That's what we're interested in here," he said.

Mr James spoke about his ambitions for the second series, saying the team wanted to build on the strengths of the debut run while pushing characters into greater emotional depth.

"We wanted to take some of the wins of season one, but also learn from some of the things that we didn't quite get to do on season one, which was push the characters into a bit more depth, give them moral quandaries that they can have regrets about and that can have lasting ramifications upon them," he said.

Keeping the drama rooted in reality remains central to his approach.

"Without stakes, then nothing really matters. So characters' choices and actions become consequential," he said.

He expressed confidence that the new series is more layered than its predecessor. "To me, I feel that the show is more complex than season one, and that was what I really hoped we could do, but we'll see how people enjoy it," he said.

The second series of The Gentlemen launched on Netflix on September 3.