Meghan Markle may have left Suits after becoming engaged to Prince Harry, but the legal drama’s found a replacement: Katherine Heigl.

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Not that the Grey’s Anatomy star will be playing Markle’s character Rachel Zane. Heigl – who you might also recognise from Knocked Up and The Ugly Truth – will play Samantha Wheeler, a divisive new partner in the Pearson Specter Litt law firm.

She’ll join the show in its upcoming eighth season, alongside show creator Aaron Korsh and stars Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty and Rick Hoffman.

The news comes after Patrick J Adams, who plays legal prodigy Mike Ross, also announced he’ll be leaving the show with Markle.

"It’s hard for me to imagine what words, in what order would sufficiently express my love and gratitude to all of the people who have made the last seven years possible," Adams said of his exit in a statement to THR. "So I will choose the simplest words I have. Thank you.”

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Both Markle – who got engaged to Prince Harry in November last year – and Adams will exit the show in the second half of season seven (which airs in the US in March). Netflix, the UK broadcaster of Suits, is yet to announce a release date for the new episodes.

Authors

Thomas LingDigital editor, BBC Science Focus

Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.

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