Theo James pictured on the set of The Gentlemen season two This article contains major spoilers for The Gentlemen season two. The Gentlemen is once again thrilling Netflix audiences with its larger-than-life characters, unique mix of comedy and violence and, indeed, its creative use of swearing. Guy Ritchie’s hit TV series – inspired by his 2019 film of the same name – centres around Theo James’ Eddie Horniman, a young man who inherits his family estate after the death of his father, only to discover it’s the home to a huge drug empire. Also starring Kaya Scodelario, Vinnie Jones and Ray Winstone, the new batch of episodes is currently sitting at the top of the Netflix charts, after debuting on the platform at the beginning of September. Once you’ve already binged through all eight episodes, check out these behind-the-scenes facts about the making of season two of The Gentlemen… The scripts for The Gentlemen season 2 didn’t always correspond to what we see on screen Guy Ritchie has a unique way of bringing his creative ideas to life – and it’s one that often forces the cast to just roll with things. “It’s impossible to guess what’s on the page that’ll end up on screen,” long-term collaborator Vinnie admitted to Many Of Many in an interview published in September. He explained: “I’ve worked with Guy many times, and I can show you a script of Lock, Stock… that looks nothing like the film. He finds it as he goes along, so you’re better off just focusing on the scene you’re shooting that day.” Ray Winstone agreed with Vinnie, but explained that the cast quickly caught on to how the Snatch director works. “You’ll get a three-page dialogue scene for yourself. You might not want to learn it, because you know it’s going to change the next day. But if you don’t learn it, you haven’t got an idea what you’re doing,” Ray claimed. Vinnie and Ray added that they are both happy to help cast members get accustomed to Guy’s work style. “In the first week, I had to explain to some panicking actors, ‘That’s just how he works – it happens to all of us’,” Vinnie told the magazine. “Once you get to a place within when you’re working that you know what’s going to come next is going to be better, that gives you the confidence to actually go on and play the part properly,” Ray explained. Guy Ritchie and Theo James behind the scenes of The Gentlemen Meanwhile, the show’s leading man, Theo James, previously highlighted Guy’s unusual style when promoting the first series. “You either give in or… it’s going to end badly for you! He has the script, and the story, but then, on the day, it’s completely rewritten in the room,”he told The Guardian back in 2024. “The first couple of days, it’s a little bit of shock and awe.” The writers wanted to introduce a new bad guy that audiences could still ‘connect with’, which is what led to Hugh Bonneville being cast Hugh Bonneville joined season two of The Gentlemen as Lord Hawthorne, a well-connected member of the House of Lords with a hidden dark side. Writer Matthew Read revealed why the team wanted to cast the Downton Abbey actor – who is usually better known for playing lovable characters. “We wanted to create a character who was an antagonist, but also one who we could emotionally connect with,” Matthew told Tudum. “And that’s why we felt Hugh was so good for the role.” Matthew added that the show’s creative team was “really keen for Eddie to ascend in both the criminal world and the world of the establishment”, pointing out that Hugh’s character is “willing to engage with criminals, but on his own terms”. Theo James and Hugh Bonneville in The Gentlemen While Maya Jama is best known as a presenter, she quickly took to acting Maya Jama may not be an experienced actor, but the Love Island host was seemingly a natural on the set of The Gentlemen season two. She appears in the first episode of the new series as Aisha, a fixer who drops into Eddie’s estate to offer her expertise. Jasmine Blackborow, who plays Charly, told the Daily Star: “[Maya] was absolutely gorgeous on set and she was nervous because she’s not done this before. She was there running her lines again and again and when she did it she was just such a pro.” Susie Glass herself, Kaya Scodelario, previously explained that she sent Maya a DM after learning she’d been cast in season two, to ensure she felt welcome on set. “I just said, ‘Hey, babe, heads up! This is going to not be what you expect. Be ready to be on your toes and trust the process’,” she told Grazia. Maya Jama was surprised at how unintimidating Guy Ritchie was on the set Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like Maya needed any help settling in. The former Masked Singer judge revealed that she found director Guy Ritchie to be a reassuring presence on set. “He’s very personable and he would be like, ‘Yeah, you’re doing well’, and reassure me, which was really nice,” she told LBC. She claimed: “He’s just really involved and kind of a genius to watch, because everyone’s practising their lines and then he says something that’s way better than the original.” “I didn’t even have to change my accent so it was great,” Maya added, before confirming she’ll be back for season three of the crime drama. Kaya Scodelario on set with The Gentlemen newbie Maya Jama The cast stayed on Guy Ritchie’s estate during filming When the cast filmed scenes on Guy’s own Ashcombe Estate, they also stayed with the director at the Wiltshire property. He bought this working farm in 2001 for £9 million, when he was still married to Madonna. You can spot it in the shooting party scenes in episode one, which see Eddie try to advance his position of power. “That was a lot of fun but tricky at times too,” production designer Martyn John told CNN Traveller. “You’re in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal or internet. We had to take everything in; so, flowers, food, dogs, guns and also… frozen partridges.” Speaking to Variety about this experience, Maya recalled: “Waking up and being like, ‘Fucking hell, this is nuts, I’m in Guy Ritchie’s house!’ was insane.” Bobby’s sauna was also inspired by the director’s own Ray Winstone’s Bobby spends much of the second season doing his business from his sauna, which is inspired by Guy’s own, situated on one of the lakes at his estate. Production designer Martyn Johns built Bobby’s sauna from scratch, following very specific instructions from the director. “He said to me, ‘Do you know what, Martyn? I’d love it if it was on a pontoon, and we could float it out onto the lake’,” he told Country and Townhouse. “And I had to say that we couldn’t really do that, because of electrics and the film crew – think about it, there’s 200 people behind the camera and five in front.” Luckily, Martyn managed to create a safe solution by placing the sauna on the edge of the lake. “Guy then asked, ‘Can we then go down through the floor into the lake, as a plunge pool?’ And I said, ‘Of course we can’ – grandly agreeing to it, and then having to make it work,” Martyn added about making the “really fun” set piece. The filmmaker loved it so much that he wanted Bobby’s exact sauna to be relocated to his own lake after filming, but as Martyn pointed out, “things like that don’t really move”. Ray Winstone as Bobby in The Gentlemen season two The Gentlemen season two really did bring the cast and crew to Italy for those sun-soaked scenes As was the case with season one, the Netflix gangster drama’s main action is filmed at Badminton House in Gloucestershire, which has also been used in Bridgerton. However, the second season also sees Eddie and Susie expand their criminal empire to Italy, taking the cast and crew across the continent. “The madness of Italy’s beauty, its culture, its history and its traditions were something I felt would fit perfectly into our show,” Guy told CNN Traveller. “I had wanted to expand the canvas of The Gentlemen in this season. Italy was just an obvious choice. British gangsters colliding with the Italian Mafia just feels so right for our world. Some fruit hangs low and looks so tasty you just can’t resist for very long.” One of the stunning locations used is Villa Rusconi-Clerici, which doubles as Bella’s Palazzo. The late-19th-century villa is located in Verbania, on the shore of Lake Maggiore and was also used for Eddie and Bella’s grand wedding. This wedding scene also makes use of the church Chiesa San Leonardo, which was transformed for the series. The Gentlemen's wedding scenes were shot at a church in remote Italy For the wedding shoot, the production team built a temporary pier in front of the villa for filming, and used the building as a base while the cast and crew filmed in the area. Production designer Martyn John told Time Out that they had a limited timeframe to film the Italian scenes, so they had to carefully choose locations close together. “We went to Italy to look for the villa, but we [also] had to find a church, a village, a town square and a hotel within the same zone,” he explained. “We only had two weeks to film in Italy, so it was paramount that I found everything in one place.” The Gentlemen’s production team had to deliver opulence on a small budget for season two While the team behind The Gentlemen didn’t divulge their exact budget, they did tell Variety they had to get creative in creating the show’s luxurious world… without the finances of master criminals. Jonathan Glickman, an executive producer on the Netflix series, praised the crew for “maintaining the scale and scope by smartly deploying resources”. He explained that many of the props used in the second series of the crime drama were loaned to production rather than bought. While Moretti’s tiger is a CGI composition, its cage was real – albeit upcycled from something found in most gardens. “I found this steel gazebo on eBay for £20,000,” production designer Martyn John explained. “[We] put sides on it, put bars on it, and that became the tiger’s cage.” Geoff’s cottage furniture actually includes personal belongings from the crew In fact, Martyn filled Vinnie Jones’ character’s house with his own furniture after clearing out his three garages. “A lot of the stuff I’d outgrown ended up furnishing Geoff’s cottage,” he told Country and Townhouse. “The leather chairs he sits in, a lot of the pictures, are from my old house…” Martyn pointed out that the cabinets and kitchen table also belonged to him, but he was going to get rid of them as he prepared to move, which coincided with The Gentlemen going back into production for season two. He also explained that, rather thriftily, many of Geoff’s kitchen supplies came from eBay. “When we’re finishing on a film or series, sometimes there’s a load of stuff that’s just going to go in a skip, so I’ll put it in the boot of my car and take it home – it’ll come in handy. And it did this time, for Geoff’s cottage,” he revealed. Meanwhile, fans have also spotted a connection between The Gentlemen and another major Guy Ritchie project Fans on Reddit have suggested that one key moment in episode six re-used footage from Guy’s film The Covenant, as Eddie began reflecting on his time in Afghanistan. The Convenant, released in 2023, was also set during the war in Afghanistan, and stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a special forces sergeant in the US military. The Gentlemen’s costume designer had a major part in telling in the story The Gentlemen is full of eccentrically dressed characters who love to flaunt their wealth and power, and this world-building is largely down to stylist, and long-time Guy Ritchie collaborator, LouLou Bontemps. “She understands where Guy’s going with it, I think that’s the massive thing,” Vinnie Jones, who plays the groundskeeper Geoff, told Man Of Many. “Those two are on the same level, and once you get on that level, it’s magical.” It’s not just that LouLou understands the show’s creator – she also has a handle on perfectly blending the actors with their character. “A lot of times you’ll go to a wardrobe before the movie and think, ‘Well, none of that’s me’, you know?’ It’s a bit different with Loulou,” Vinnie added. “You go there, and a lot of the stuff on the rail will give you a smile for you and for your character.” But even while considering the actors, the stylist also used clothing to map the character’s journey in the show. Giancarlo Esposito, who plays the villainous Stanley, declared the stylist a “genius”. “It’s an empowerment to get with her and to figure out, ‘Well, what is Stanley trying to say here? Is he relaxing? Is he in business mode? What’s happening with him?’ I love clothing and I get the advantage of really feeling like a collaborator with LouLou,” he revealed. Theo noted to Tudum how his character’s style has evolved as he enters the criminal underworld. ”Eddie has gone from a kind of classic, slightly stuffy second child of a duke to a highly wealthy and dangerous criminal who’s also a peer of the realm,” he explained. Eagled-eyed fans may have noticed Eddie wearing more red this season. “He looks great in it, but red is warning and red is power and red is anger and red is all of these things,” LouLou explained. Eagle-eyed fans may have noticed Theo James wearing more red in The Gentlemen's second season LouLou also noted how Susie’s wardrobe changed, following the character’s narrative. “Susie, from the beginning, was this femme fatale gangster,” LouLou told Tudum. “She is that girl in all of us that wants to play dress up, but can. It’s a little bit more mature, it’s a little bit more bougie in Season 2 because she’s doing well and she’s branched out a little bit.” Some of the show’s accessories come with their own bodyguard Characters in the crime drama like to flaunt their wealth, even if they don’t like to reveal exactly how they made their money. The costumer told GQ that the first series saw Theo’s Eddie wearing more subtle pieces that “he had inherited from his father”, whereas in series two “time has passed and he’s definitely gone and spent some of his money on watches of his own choice.” Last series, it was reported by GQ that the watches worn on screen were worth around £6m, and that season two had beaten that, although, stylist LouLou has admitted that most of them were loaned to production rather than purchased. The more expensive pieces seen on-screen are kept under close watch to ensure they are safe. “The watches come with a person who has to guard them, which means another human being who stands over and watches me try to take it off and put it in my pocket,” Giancarlo told Man Of Many. Season two was originally supposed to introduce us Vinnie Jones and Ray Winstone’s characters to each other for the first time Vinnie Jones shooting The Gentlemen's new season “There’s a scene which we never did in the end, where Geoff goes to the prison to see [Bobby] – which never got done but it was being spoken about,” Vinnie told Radio Times. Both actors said they’d be keen for their characters to cross paths, with Ray suggesting that “maybe that will come” in the next season, “if I’m back”. “I’ll see what I can do,” Vinnie then quipped. Theo James went into season two hoping to show a very different side of Eddie Theo told Tudum that he hoped to showcase a more complicated side to his cool-as-cucumber character. The Divergent actor said that while his character starts out as “a good person just trying to help his family out”, he eventually turns into someone who gets his own way by using “deep and savage violence.” When scripting Eddie this season, writers asked themselves: “Does he want too much? Will he lose his soul in his quest to ascend and become stronger?” He also told Deadline: “In a way, through season one, I wanted him to go further. I wanted him to take deeper risks and make bigger mistakes, but Guy’s feeling was of echoes of Corleone in the very first act of The Godfather – a civilian with a moral duty to his family, and he feels like he’s just trying to get out of a fucked-up situation. “Ultimately, he learns that he’s quite good at the criminality side, and there’s an elixir to it and an allure.” “The reason to do a second season was there are elements that we hadn’t really fully touched on,” he noted. “We hadn’t plumbed Eddie’s character, and there was an ability to do that, and to look at the moral complications of power. In season two, it’s established that there are no apologies.” Theo James and Guy Ritchie pictured during the shoot for The Gentlemen season two Multiple variations of the heart-wrenching scene when Eddie discovers the fate of his wife were shot “We actually shot a bunch of [versions],” Theo recalled to The Hollywood Reporter. “Eddie sees what’s happened, and there’s an aftermath. “Guy wanted a bit more mystery, so we don’t understand where he is or what’s happening to him until the end of episode seven — and then he starts this story of ultimate revenge fuelled by anger.” Interestingly, the ending was one of the first scenes Theo James shot for The Gentlemen season two Theo told Radio Times that the climax of the scene was done “really early on”, and was, as you can imagine, both a “stressful” and “complex scene to shoot”. “I guess, after season 2, [Eddie] has control,” he observed. “But ultimately, in the nod to Godfather II, it’s a dog that needs to be dealt with ultimately, I would assume.” Finally, The Gentlemen went with that brutal ending for a reason Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Theo explained what the creative team was trying to achieve with the cliffhanger at the end of season two. After learning that Freddy knew about Gospel John’s plan and had helped him, Eddie beats his brother up, but does not kill him. Instead, he demands that Freddy kill Gospel John himself. “That was something we had talked about with Guy and Matthew for a long time,” Theo explained. “[Eddie] can’t murder his brother straight up and straight out because then he loses his family. But he has to have some semblance of revenge. “So that [ending] came from trying to figure out: How do you do both in one? How do you punish him without killing him?” Theo added that the writers wanted to force Freddy into doing something so “atrocious” that it would spiritually destroy him. All eight episodes of The Gentlemen season two are now streaming on Netflix. READ MORE: Thought The New Stars Of The Gentlemen Season 2 Looked Familiar? Where You've Seen Them Before There's Good News And Bad News For Anyone Already Hoping For The Gentlemen Season 3 Hold On, What's The Actual Story About Meghan Markle And Netflix's The Gentlemen, Then?