The Gentlemen star: 'It's Downton Abbey and Peaky Blinders mashed together’
Joely Richardson and Vinnie Jones spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com about the new Netflix series.
Over four years after Guy Ritchie's film The Gentlemen was released, a new spin-off series is arriving on Netflix, telling a brand new story exploring the same themes and similar situations.
The series follows Theo James's Eddie Horniman, a soldier who inherits his father’s dukedom and sizeable country estate, but soon discovers it’s part of a cannabis empire.
The supporting cast for the series includes Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Giancarlo Esposito and Ray Winstone, as well as Vinnie Jones and Joely Richardson.
Jones and Richardson spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com about how they both joined the show's cast, with frequent Ritchie collaborator Jones saying: "Mine was early. Guy text me and he said, 'What you up to?' He said, 'I might have something coming up for you,' which was quite a bit before.
"And so then I just had to wait for the bits, you know, 'What is it?' You know, and he said, 'I'll tell you more later.' So that’s how I was involved from kind of day one, I think as soon as he knew it was happening. I kind of got a text, yeah."
Jones then joked about Richardson auditioning for her role and being sought out by Ritchie because of her appearance in an advert, before she added: "I was sent the script and I was like, 'God, Guy Ritchie, that would be great.'
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"I wasn't quite sure, a lot of producers had done Peaky Blinders, so it was a mixture of these worlds of, I say, Downton Abbey and Peaky Blinders all mashed together that I thought was really exciting.
"But when you sign on for a television series, you’re given one or two episodes, so you don't know how the characters will develop. So it's a bit of a leap of faith, because you're signing on for many, many months."
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Jones plays Geoff Seacombe in The Gentlemen, the groundskeeper of the Horniman family's estate, while Richardson plays Lady Sabrina, Eddie's mother and the wife of the late duke.
The Gentlemen will be available to stream on Netflix from Thursday 7th March 2024. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.