Dame Helen Mirren gave her MobLand co-star Pierce Brosnan a tight hug as the cast gathered at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square on Thursday night for the premiere of the crime drama's second season.
The 81-year-old actress cuddled up to Brosnan, 73, at the afterparty, the pair showcasing their friendship despite reports of major tension between lead star Tom Hardy and production during filming of the new series.
Mirren and Brosnan play Conrad Harrigan and Maeve Harrigan, the power couple at the centre of the Harrigan family in Guy Ritchie's London-set crime drama. In the new series their relationship and their grip on the organisation are under considerable strain.
The pair also posed for a group shot with co-stars Tom Hardy, 48, Joanne Froggatt and Lara Pulver.
Red carpet reunion with Tom Hardy
Earlier in the evening, Mirren proved there was no bad blood between the cast as she cosied up to Hardy on the red carpet, with the pair sharing a warm embrace.
The premiere marked the first time the cast had all publicly reunited following the controversy surrounding Hardy's on-set behaviour during filming.
Mirren, who plays Maeve Harrigan in the Paramount+ series, looked sensational in a £4,470 silver sequined gown from designer Jenny Packham. Hardy, however, skipped a suit in favour of a more casual look, wearing an £825 white shirt and trousers from Rogue & Sons. The bold shirt featured a blue painting of The Tower of Babel by German artist Wilhelm von Kaulbach.
Brosnan, who plays Maeve's husband Conrad Harrigan, wore a pinstripe blazer with a black and white spotted shirt, while Lara Pulver stood out in a strapless yellow dress by American designer Prabal Gurung, paired with silver drop earrings. She was seen posing with Mirren and Froggatt.
Other cast and guests at the afterparty
Emmett J Scanlan showed off his physique in a sheer black top worn under a black blazer.
Other celebrities in attendance included Millie Mackintosh, Roxy Horner, Kimberley Garner and Nadiya Bychkova.
Tom Hardy departure reports
Over the past few months there have been reports of behind-the-scenes friction involving Hardy, with stories claiming there were disagreements over the direction of the show. Accusations of major tension between Hardy and production during filming led to reports he was departing the series. Hardy's dismissal from MobLand was first reported in the Puck newsletter in May, which blamed "clashes with producers among others" during production of the second season.
Mirren has jumped to her co-star's defence, previously showing her support with a "Love you now and always" Instagram post and stating publicly she would work with him again in a "heartbeat."
"You do learn certain things as you get older," she told Radio Times. "About how to work with people, really."
She said she had not become more forgiving of people, but explained: "What you learn is every single person is different; every single person has their own way of doing things. There's not one way, there's a million different ways."
"What you want is what's on the screen, or what's on the stage, to be great. And the only way to do that is for everyone to feel that they can be free to create and explore and experiment and f*** up," she said, adding that she herself had "endlessly" "f**ked up."
Mirren, who reprises her role alongside Hardy, Pulver, Mandeep Dhillon and Teddie Allen, said she loved "to work in an ensemble situation, and MobLand is very ensemble. It suits me just fine."
What's next for MobLand
It has since been reported that Hardy and producers Jez Butterworth and David Glasser are working through their creative differences in time to start shooting a third season, which is set to go into production this autumn. It has also been reported that Hardy's character, Harry, was not written out at the end of season two.
Season two picks up after the bloody events of the first season, with Harry caught between increasingly dangerous factions as he tries to keep the Harrigan operation from imploding, while the Harrigans attempt to present a united front against new rivals moving in on their criminal empire.
