MR. SELFRIDGE - Season three is underway

Filming for the third series of hit ITV period drama Mr Selfridge is well underway, and according to the show’s star Jeremy Piven – he of course plays Harry Selfridge - it’s shaping up to be the best yet!

In case you haven’t yet seen the show – and if not, get on it, you’re missing a treat – it focusses on the story of the legendary Harry and his department store, which was the first of its kind in London. The show was an instant hit with ITV viewers and landed impressively high figures in terms of viewer ratings.

“I just thought I was incredibly lucky, especially after coming off of eight seasons of ‘Entourage’, I wasn’t thinking about doing TV at all.”

But as mentioned above, according to Piven, the third series will make the first two look like wet weekends by comparison!

While speaking to International New York culture at the recent TimesTalks London event last week, he said: “I can honestly say this is the best one we’ve done [yet].

“That’s one of the great things about doing TV; you continually get the chance to dig a little deeper and do it right.

“I think we hit the ground running this season [and] the action starts right from the beginning.”

On the subject of his leap from the US to Britain, the Entourage star said that the decision was easy, and that being offered the chance to play Harry was an impressive and flattering offer

He remarked: “His life plays out like a Greek tragedy. He was a brilliant entrepreneur and a flamboyant, colourful man.

“British television, unlike US television, really maps out where they want to go, they had a real plan for where to take him for a number of years. It blew me away…

However, one well-loved cast member who will be missing when Mr Selfridge returns for series three is Katherine Kelly – who plays Lady Mae Loxley – as she is taking maternity leave having just given birth to her first child, a little girl named Orla. But as Jeremy revealed, the door has been left open for Kelly to return.

He said: “Everyone’s back [in series three] except for Katherine Kelly who’s in Australia [after having a baby]… I hope we have her back at some point.”

Production for Mr Selfridge series three began in April and it’s expected that the drama will air on ITV early next year. For now, watch an interview with Jeremy Piven in the clip below: