Now that the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That, is right around the corner, its creators have started drip feeding fans some long-awaited secrets. Namely answering the question on everyone’s lips: what the hell has happened to Samantha Jones?

It’s long been known that Kim Cattrall, who plays the sexaholic PR executive, isn’t reprising her role in the forthcoming series, but how she’s been written out has been kept tightly under wraps. In August, rumours began to swirl that Samantha had been killed off. A video shared on TikTok showed a group of extras – purportedly filming And Just Like That – looking solemn and dressed head-to-to in all black. The clip’s narrator hypothesised: “Is it for Samantha’s funeral?”

Well now we have our answer: no. In an interview with the Da*ly M*il, a SATC “insider” revealed that Samantha has in fact moved to London. “We couldn’t have Samantha roaming around New York City and not have the other women (Charlotte and Miranda) not interacting with her,” the source told the newspaper. “It just wouldn’t have made sense. Sending her to Los Angeles wasn’t an option as we’d done that in the first movie, so having her character based in London really was the perfect way to keep her alive and explain her absence.”

In a plot that’s a little too true to life, Samantha has fallen out with her former BFF Carrie Bradshaw – played by Sarah Jessica Parker, who Cattrall has actually fallen out with in real life. Speaking about the possibility of ever reprising her role, Cattrall famously once told The Guardian: “I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself.”

It gets weirder. At the end of the reboot’s first season, Carrie will reportedly make a grand gesture to get Samantha back. “Carrie is the one who has the tough time without Samantha, and by the end of And Just Like That, you’ll see Carrie extend the olive brand and try and rekindle the friendship.”

It seems the writers are hoping this (pretty desperate) move will encourage Cattrall to return for season two. “We have high hopes that by the time we begin filming the second season, Kim will have joined the show and Samantha Jones can make a triumphant return to the Big Apple. We want Kim back. She was missed on set. We all understand why she feels the way she does. We get it. We just want her to come back for future seasons.”

As Cattrall has just joined the Queer As Folk reboot as a martini-soaked socialate, it’s unlikely she’ll be knocking on SATC’s door any time soon. What’s more, if she did go back, the writers would have to figure out what to do with Nicole Ari Parker, who’s been brought on as Carrie’s new BFF, Lisa Todd Wexley, AKA Samantha’s replacement. Drama, drama, drama.

And Just Like That is set to premiere on HBO Max on December 9. Watch the teaser for the forthcoming reboot below – warning: fashion crimes are committed – and read Samantha Jones Public Relations’ rival SATC spin-off pitch here.