The Night Manager star Tom Hiddleston explains impact of season 2 time jump

He'll be reprising his role in seasons 2 and 3, and talking to Deadline about the wait between seasons, the actor admitted: "We took the time to try and get the story right."

He went on: "Principally, John le Carré seemed so happy with our adaptation the first time, and that was such a relief. So if we were going to go again, we needed it to be... just needed to find the right story.

"What's so fascinating about Le Carré is his stories often emerge within him in response to the world as he found it."

Speaking about that time jump, Hiddleston said: "What I'm really excited by is that eight or nine years have passed since the first season. These characters have been alive in the world in the last eight or nine years, and I think, hopefully our show will reflect that.

"So Jonathan Pine, as Le Carré calls him, 'the close observer', has been alive in the world.

"So he'll be eight or nine years older, just as I am, and I think it'll be so fascinating to see where he is, what he's doing, how he's operating, what he's thinking, what's changed, what hasn't changed.

"And hopefully we can create the same sort of chemistry we made on the first one."

There sure have been a lot of things going on in the world in the last nine years, but as to what will be covered in the new season of the hit drama, we'll just have to wait and see.

While it is yet to be confirmed whether or not the likes of Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman or Elizabeth Debicki will be reprising their roles for season 2, Hiddleston did say that they're all "absolutely amazing, all of them amazing, truly".

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The new run will be brought to life in partnership with Amazon, with a release date yet to be confirmed - but Hiddleston did reveal that filming on the series will kick off later this year.

He said: "The scripts are in great shape. David Farr, who was the screenwriter for the first series, is back, and has an extraordinary vision for where to take the next chapter.

"We're fine-tuning and twisting the dials and things and tightening things up, but it's feeling very exciting. I can't wait to get started."

On the announcement of the two-season renewal, Le Carré's sons Simon and Stephen Cornwell said: "Revisiting the story of Pine also means going beyond the events of John le Carré's original work: that is a decision we have not taken lightly, but his compelling characters and the vision David has for their next chapter were irresistible."

The Night Manager season 1 is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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