Daniel Ings Exits 'The Gentlemen' Series, Cites Shift in Character Humor

Daniel Ings, who portrayed Freddy Horniman in the Netflix series 'The Gentlemen,' has announced he will not be appearing in the third season. Ings confirmed his departure in a recent interview, stating that while he enjoyed playing the character, the comedic elements of Freddy were deliberately reduced in the second season.

"I'm not in the next one. So that's a fun sense of closure," Ings told HATC Magazine. "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."

Ings elaborated on the creative direction for his character in the second season, explaining that writer Guy Ritchie aimed to pull back on the humor. "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," Ings said. "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."

Freddy Horniman, the brother of the aristocratic protagonist Eddie Horniman (Theo James), played a significant role in the conclusion of the second season. After discovering Eddie had ordered a hit on their family and attempted a kidnapping, Freddy killed an associate to prove his loyalty to his brother.

Filming for the third season of 'The Gentlemen' has commenced, with stars Theo James, Kaya Scodelario (Susie Glass), and Vinnie Jones (Geoff Seacombe) reportedly seen on set. The series centers on Eddie Horniman, a former British military officer who inherits his father's estate, only to find it oversees a cannabis empire, drawing him into a criminal underworld.

Rumors had previously circulated that Meghan Markle might join the cast for the third season, with reports of preliminary talks. However, sources close to the production team dismissed the possibility, with one insider stating the show did not require "stunt casting." Reports suggested Markle felt "used" by the speculation surrounding her potential involvement, leading to concerns that such rumors could be leveraged for publicity.