Suits boss says he "never asked" Meghan Markle to be part of the final episode

After nine seasons, legal drama Suits has drawn to a happy close, seeing two weddings, a birth, and new positions offered to the most deserving of people.

Before it aired, though, fans of the show wondered whether the series finale of the much-loved drama may see the return of many old faces – with many hoping Meghan Markle may make a comeback.

In the show, Markle played the ambitious Rachel Zane, who married Mike Ross (Patrick J Adams) and subsequently left for Seattle.

But sometimes life is stranger than fiction, as Markle chose to leave acting behind after her relationship with Prince Harry got serious – with the pair then marrying in 2018.

Suits had never been afraid to knowingly nod to Markle’s new social status, with several references to just how “well” Rachel was doing.

However, Suits creator Aaron Korsh drew the line at actually inviting the Duchess of Sussex back to the show for its finale episode – but admitted he did think about asking.

“I thought about even using audio footage that we have to come up with something,” he told Deadline.

“In the end I didn’t ask, and I just thought, I’m going to respect her new life and not put her in the position of having to ask. We decided not to put her in that position so I never asked.”

That didn’t stop Korsh from adding several bonus Rachel references into the episode and the character does feature in a poignant montage towards the end of the finale.

“I wrote that thing into the script. I am a nostalgic person. We talked about it. We weren’t sure it would work, and we weren’t sure how much to put in,” he said.

“There were certain people that thought we shouldn’t do it. I was open to hearing that maybe we shouldn’t do it because we did have a lot of endings.

“All those people, when they actually saw it, decided they wanted it in, they liked it. For me, it adds to the good vibe of the show.”

While Suits may be over, there’s still plenty of drama to be had in the shape of its spin-off Pearson.

The show follows Jessica Pearson, once again played by Gina Torres, as she enters the dirty world of Chicago politics.