It’s safe to say Meghan Markle has a very busy 2018 ahead of her. After all, in just three and a half months, she’ll be walking down the aisle of St. George’s Chapel at Winsdor Castle towards Prince Harry, in the most highly anticipated royal wedding of the year.

But filming the next season of Suits is not on the 36-year-old’s ‘to-do’ list, after she confirmed she would be giving up her acting career once married.

Luckily, another big name star - whose face you may have recognised from another long-running TV drama - has stepped up to fill Meghan's shoes.

That's right, Katherine Heigl, of Grey's Anatomy and 27 Dresses fame is set to join the cast for the show's eighth season.

LISTEN: Meghan Markle is leaving to marry Prince Harry and now Patrick J. Adams is expected to leave too. So how can Suits survive without its stars?

The 39-year-old is set to play Samantha Wheeler, a talented new partner at Pearson Specter Litt who will "challenge the status quo".

Her character will "either become the firm's greatest ally or most powerful enemy", according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sounds... juicy.

"Joining Suits was the perfect organic way to not only collaborate with an EP I admire deeply, but to also become part of a show and cast that I am an immense fan of," the actress said in a statement when news of her new role was revealed.

"I have watched Suits from the very beginning and feel incredibly lucky to be the newest member of the Pearson Specter Litt family."

Heigl rose to fame as fan-favourite Dr. Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy. She left the show in 2010 after a rumoured spat with the show's creator, Shonda Rhimes. A feud between the pair began in 2008, when Heigl refused to submit her name for Emmys consideration, saying she felt her character hadn't been given the material to warrant a nomination.

When asked about her reputation for being "rude" and "difficult" on set, Heigl told a fan in 2014 that "just like any human being, I've made mistakes".

"[I've] unwittingly or carelessly spoken or acted, but I always try to make any wrong right," she said.

The actress added that she just asks "to be treated kindly and respectfully, but I don't do that with any rude or unkind intentions, just with the same strength and honesty I think every one of us is entitled to."

Patrick J. Adams, who played the long-running love interest of Meghan's character Rachel Zane on Suits, has also confirmed he won't be returning for the show's eighth season.

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