Queen Camilla Nearly Joined“ Only Murders in the Building” as Meghan Markle Is in Talks for Acting Return

Meredith KileTue, August 25, 2026 at 7:20 PM UTC

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Queen Camilla; Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short in ‘Only Murders in the Building’Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty; Disney/Miya Mizuno -

Only Murders in the Building almost cast Queen Camilla for a cameo

The show’s sixth season takes place primarily in London and features appearances from a slew of major U.K. stars

Executive producer and showrunner John Hoffman said he was shocked to find out the Queen might be available, but there was a logistical reason that it didn’t work out

Meghan Markle may be in talks to make a return to acting, but another member of the royal family almost landed a role on an Emmy-winning comedy.

In a new interview with Vulture, John Hoffman, the executive producer and showrunner of Only Murders in the Building, opens up about the star-studded guest cast of the show’s upcoming sixth season, which takes place primarily in London.

Hoffman reveals that, in addition to booking big-name U.K. stars like David Tennant, Geri Halliwell, Nicola Coughlan, Richard Ayoade and Jamie Demetriou, the show nearly landed the Queen herself.

“We almost got Camilla,” Hoffman said. “I know it’s insane, but yes, there was a moment.”

The showrunner said he was shocked to learn that the Queen might be available. “I was like, ‘Wait, what? Is that real?’ ”

Queen Camilla visits the set of the TV show ‘Rivals’ on Dec. 8, 2025Credit: Anthony Upton - WPA Pool/Getty

Ultimately, the cameo didn’t come together, due in part to the U.K.’s stricter union rules, which limit productions to 10-hour filming days.

Hoffman said the logistical issues of getting Queen Camilla, 79, on set would only add further complications to an already-tight production schedule; realizing it was “going to be a whole thing,” the show scrapped the idea.

Meanwhile, Meghan is reportedly in talks for a role in the third season of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentleman?

“When is she traveling? We’re leaving in three days,” Hoffman joked.

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Asked in 2022 whether she would ever return to acting, the former Suits star, 45, appeared to close that door. “I’m done,” she said. “I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not.” Four years later, she is in early talks for what could become her most significant acting role since leaving Suits — a role in season 3 of The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie’s hit Netflix crime drama about an aristocratic family caught up in a drug empire.

PEOPLE understands the conversations remain ongoing, though nothing has been finalized.

While there won’t be a royal cameo in the building next season, fans can look forward to plenty more familiar faces, including Peter Capaldi, Jodi Whitaker, Jennifer Saunders, Jane Horrocks, Martin Freeman, Jim Broadbent, Derek Jacobi, Lesley Nicol, Amar Chadha-Patel, Adrian Lukis, Simone Ashley and more.

There’s also the core cast of Selena Gomez, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Meryl Streep, who have been spotted filming in London over the summer.

Selena Gomez on the set of ‘Only Murders In The Building’ season 6 in London on July 28, 2026Credit: Neil Mockford/GC Images

Only Murders in the Building would have been the Queen’s second time rubbing elbows with Tennant on a television set in less than a year. In December, she and her daughter, Laura Lopes, visited the set of the Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Hulu series Rivals, where they chatted with the Doctor Who star and other actors on the late-’80s drama.

David Tennant shakes hands with Queen Camilla on the set of the TV show ‘Rivals’ on Dec. 8, 2025Credit: Anthony Upton - WPA Pool/Getty

“It’s a little bit depressing being in a period drama where you remember the period,” star Victoria Smurfitt joked with the Queen during their chat.

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Rivals holds special meaning for Camilla. Not only did she tell the cast that she binge-watched the first season during a bout with pneumonia and “felt much better afterwards,” according to The Telegraph, but she was also close friends with the late Dame Jilly Cooper, who wrote the novel of the same name that inspired the series.

“It’s so sad that she’s not here,” the Queen reportedly said during her visit. “She should be. I am so excited to be here. She would have loved it.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”