TV and Hollywood actress Katherine Heigl is to joing Suits next season, following the departure of both Meghan Markle and Patrick J. Adams.

The actress will be a series regular, reports THR, playing new partner Samantha Wheeler. As you might expect, the character has been designed to ruffle feathers, and initially will straddle the line between ally and enemy.

Heigl said: “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. I have watched Suits from the very beginning and feel incredibly lucky to be the newest member of the Pearson Specter Litt family.”

Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman and Dule Hill were also all promoted to series regular status following season seven.

“On behalf of the entire Suits team, I am extraordinarily excited to welcome Katherine Heigl into our family,” added Aaron Korsh, creator and showrunner. “I have always been a big fan of her work and was delighted to discover she was an avid Suits fan herself.”