Guy Ritchie ‘surprised’ by The Gentlemen series popularity

Mr Ritchie, who co-wrote and executive-produced the Netflix hit series, said it was a challenge to keep the show “live and interesting” for its second instalment.

The series features The Divergent star Theo James as Duke Eddie Horniman, who inherits a family estate home and a cannabis farm run by Susie Glass, played by Kaya Scodelario.

In the first series, more than 80 locations were used, with series two pushing that total over 100.

Daniel Ings, who plays Freddy, told the Radio Times that shooting has taken place in Oxfordshire.

Exact details of where in Oxfordshire have been kept under wraps, but it was at a private estate.

He said: "We were also shooting in Oxfordshire at this house that's meant to be the home of Lord Whitecroft, who has also leased his land to the gangsters, and it's a crumbling castle with a moat around it."

The series, a spin-off from Mr Ritchie’s blockbuster, has proved a major success, leading to multiple award nominations and an Emmy win.

During a press conference for the launch of its new instalment, Mr Ritchie reflected on the difficulties of expanding the world of The Gentlemen.

The 57-year-old said: “We were quite surprised by the interest that season one provoked, and then of course the challenge is: How do you keep this live and interesting?

“We paid more attention to the second season, I think.

“But our principal challenge was to evoke (something) unpredictable but enough of the same world, and an environment where we felt that we were stimulated.”

The award-winning filmmaker also discussed the difficulties of trying to come up with a story which was “new and provocative” whilst also being “familiar enough”.

“The scripts, to some degree, write themselves as characters do,” Ritchie added.

“Once characters have been given a voice, it’s odd how they can unfurl their characteristics and subsequently the drama that thereby follows.”

Mr Ritchie is best known for directing films including Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Wrath Of Man.

Series two will pick up a year later as Eddie and Susie expand their criminal empire to Italy, as they face high stakes and power struggles with mobsters.

The eagerly awaited second season will also see Love Island host Maya Jama make her acting debut as Aisha, the wife of a criminal associate.

It is believed that the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is in talks about making her return to the acting world in the third season, which was renewed days before the release of the second series.

This would mark her first significant acting role since her marriage to the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, in 2018.