The Gentlemen star Daniel Ings reveals he won't be returning for series three and says writer Guy Ritchie removed the 'humour' from his character in the second installment

The Gentlemen star Daniel Ings has revealed that he won't be returning for series three of the Netflix show.

The actor, 40, took on the role of Theo James' aristocrat character Eddie's brother Freddy Horniman but has now said goodbye to the show after two hugely popular installments.

In a new interview Daniel also said that writer Guy Ritchie removed the 'humour' from his character in the second series, but insisted he still loved playing Freddy. 

Speaking to HATC Magazine he said: 'I'm not in the next one. So that's a fun sense of closure.

'I kind of see it as closure for the character in a way; it just ends as this wild, broken, crazy, you know. I don't know, probably mumbling into the ether somewhere in the British countryside.'

'I absolutely loved playing Freddy. When that storyline was presented to me for series two, he was written almost as a completely different character. And part of that was that I think Guy wanted to move away from the humour of it.

'He sat me down on my first day on the second series and was like, we went too far with the humour; we got to pull it back. So that was part of it, it was really interesting to kind of thread that needle.'

The decision will leave fans wondering how the story will continue however as Freddy formed a key part of the ending of series two.

After Eddie discovered he had ordered a hit on their whole family and tried to kidnap his nephew, Freddy had to kill his associate in order to prove his loyalty to his sibling.

The cast of The Gentlemen reunited to film series three on Monday – but there was no sign of the Duchess of Sussex on set. 

In August, it was reported Meghan Markle was in preliminary talks over a possible role in the third series of the Netflix crime drama. 

Meghan, 45, is reportedly determined to return to acting while continuing to run her As Ever business. 

However a row over Guy's hit series emerged after the duchess was said to have felt 'used' following the speculation she was to join the cast. 

Filming for the new series has now started and Vinnie Jones, 61, Kaya Scodelario, 34, and Theo, 41, were seen on set for the first time. 

The gang were seen dressed in their costumes and marched through the streets of London as the cameras rolled. 

The trio are the key characters navigating an aristocratic estate tied to a massive criminal underworld.

Theo plays Eddie Horniman (the Duke of Halstead), a former British military officer who unexpectedly inherits his estranged father's massive country estate, only to discover it sits on top of a lucrative cannabis empire.

Kaya is Susie Glass, the ruthless daughter of a locked-up crime boss who runs the estate while Vinnie is Geoff Seacombe, the loyal, steady-handed estate groundskeeper and gamekeeper. 

The filming comes after it was reported Meghan felt 'used' after the rumour emerged she was to join the show just four days before the Sussexes moved back to the UK.

Director Guy was said to have held preliminary talks with Meghan, although he apparently responded 'really?' and 'not a chance' when asked about the prospect of the former Suits star appearing in the show.

And a source close to its production team bluntly insisted the series did not need 'stunt casting' to succeed.

It followed leading stars such as Theo and Ray Winstone appearing incredulous at suggestions the duchess could join a future series.

Meghan is said to have been hurt by the ordeal and now plans to be more selective about scripts, amid concerns producers could use the prospect of her involvement as a PR coup to generate interest.

Insiders on The Gentlemen have dismissed claims the streaming giant 'used' her to promote its new season.

Sources close to Meghan accused those behind the show of revealing her potential involvement in the crime drama to generate publicity, claiming that it had left her with a 'sour taste'.

But that claim was rejected out of hand by those with close ties to the show's production team.

'This is not a show in need of stunt casting,' a show insider told The Times.