Real reason Kim Cattrall put aside feud with Sarah Jessica Parker to film And Just Like That

Kim Cattrall is back after vowing to never reprise her iconic Sex and the City character following a feud with Sarah Jessica Parker. Now we know why.

Kim Cattrall is reprising her role as Samantha Jones on And Just Like That, despite her feud with Sarah Jessica Parker. Picture: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Kim Cattrall is back after vowing to never reprise her iconic Sex and the City character following a feud with Sarah Jessica Parker.

The British-born actress is to make a sensational return as Samantha Jones in the second run of And Just Like That — which streams locally on Binge.

But after the lukewarm response to the first series and the fact Cattrall, 66, has been out of the spotlight in recent years, the move is probably more about ­necessity than female unity, reports The Sun.

A TV insider said: “It was one of the most sensational bust-ups in showbiz, with both leading ladies involv­ed in a stand-off lasting years.

The SATC gals are reuniting … Sort of.

“When And Just like That was made, the creator of the show gave a firm ‘no’ to the idea of her returning, and Kim made it clear she felt the same way.

“But many fans said it just didn’t feel like Sex And The City without the woman who gave the series more sex than any other character.

“And Kim will no doubt have realised that this will now be the biggest job of her career, a fact she has ­probably reconciled herself to.

“So what fans have ended up with is almost guaranteed to delight them, even if it’s an uneasy truce for the actresses themselves.”

Not since 2010 has Cattrall appeared alongside Parker, 58, and the other two women in their fab New York City foursome — Cynthia Nixon, 57, and Kristin Davis, 58.

Her cameo will reportedly appear in one scene in the show’s season finale, with the second season to drop on June 22.

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Sarah Jessica Parker in the upcoming season of And Just Like That. Picture: HBO

Kim Cattrall has had a very public feud with SJP over the years. Picture: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Through the HBO series, which aired in the late nineties and early noughties, they became huge stars and went on to make two Sex And The City movies, in 2008 and 2010.

Over six saucy seasons, they scooped seven Emmys and eight Golden Globes, but cracks had been emerging towards the end of the TV show’s final run.

A big problem was the fact that although the rom-com drama was based around Parker’s character, Carrie Bradshaw, but it was Samantha who seemed to steal the scenes.

Tensions rose further after Cattrall — born in Liverpool to British parents who later emigrated to Canada — asked to be paid $1.35 million an episode, which was up from a reported $475,000.

But Parker, who was the executive producer, got an even higher wage, which reportedly annoyed Cattrall.

Cattrall was also unhappy about how Samantha was increasingly being portrayed, saying: “I felt like I was now cast as a cougar, which became not as positive as other aspects.”

Slowly cracks became chasms, and in 2018, things came to a head when Parker expressed her sympathy in the wake of Cattrall’s brother taking his own life.

Cattrall wrote on Twitter: “My Mom [sic] asked me today ‘When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?’ Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now.

“You are not my family. You are not my friend.

“Stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your ‘nice girl’ persona.”

Cattrall later confirmed: “We’ve never been friends. We’ve been ­colleagues.”

The total breakdown in relations seemed to be sparked by Parker “pressuring” Cattrall to take part in a third movie.

It was eventually scrapped before filming began.

Sarah Jessica-Parker, Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon haven’t starred alongside each other since 2010. Picture: MAX NASH / AFP

Cattrall felt like she had been portrayed as a diva for saying “no” and added: “Sarah Jessica Parker could have been nicer. I don’t know what her issue is.”

So when the sequel to SATC, And Just Like That, came out two years ago, Cattrall only found out about the project via social media — and ­learned Samantha was absent.

Like the original concept, it featured Carrie lunching, designer shopping and bantering with her pals ­Charlotte [Davis] and Miranda [Nixon].

Samantha’s absence was explained by her ­“moving to London for work”, with one of them remarking: “Sexy sirens in their 60s are still viable over there.”

Carrie no longer needed a personal publicist, and when she let Samantha go professionally, Samantha sacked her as a friend.

In the show, all of the women tried to get in touch, but ­Samantha never responded.

In words that sounded like a slight to Cattrall, Carrie says: “I kept leaving her voicemails asking her to please call me back so we could talk and fix it.

“Look, I understand that she was upset, but I thought I was more to her than an ATM.”

When Carrie’s husband Big, played by Chris Noth, 67, had a fatal heart attack at the start of the series, Samantha sends flowers.

They were the only bouquet that Carrie allowed to be on display at the funeral.

Samantha’s absence was mourned by fans and critics, which Cattrall seemed to revel in.

She said: “I’ve come to the ­conclusion that really the ­greatest compliment I could have as an actor is to be missed.”

Only last year Cattrall insisted there was no way back.

She said: “It’s a great wisdom to know when enough is enough. I also didn’t want to compromise what the show was to me. The way forward seemed clear.”

But Cattrall will now feature in a scene at the end of the upcoming season, though notably she doesn’t ­physically appear alongside the main trio.

The trailer, released this week, may provide a clue to Parker’s current state of mind as it begins with words that could sum up her complicated relationship with Cattrall.

She says: “You don’t move on because you’re ready to, you move on because you’ve outgrown who you used to be.”

Cattrall hasn’t hinted at the reason for her apparent U-turn.

It may have coincided with changes in her life, both professional and private.

Her mother, Shane Cattrall — a vocal critic of Sarah — died aged 93 in December.

Cattrall’s career in the last few years has seen mixed results. In 2020 she was the lead and executive producer on US drama Filthy Rich, which was axed five episodes in.

Since then she has been the narrator on two other US-based series, How I Met Your Father and yet another reboot of Queer As Folk.

But nothing has been quite in the same league as the show that made her an international star.

SATC was one of the most popular shows on TV.

Crucially, Cattrall might have been influenced by the success of Netflix series Emily In Paris, which is also made by SATC creator ­Darren Star.

It too features an older, no- nonsense, sexy head of a PR ­organisation called Sylvie, who ­Millennials lapped up, and SATC ­stalwarts compared to Samantha.

They were whipped into a frenzy when Star was asked about the possibility of Cattrall appearing in the third series of Emily In Paris, which was a possibility as she was living across the Channel in London.

He said: “It’s about finding the right role for the right person. And I would love to work with Kim and it’s just about finding a role that’s worthy of Kim.”

Seeing how loved Samantha was might just have tipped the balance for both Cattrall and the creators of And Just Like That.

Although the actress only has a small part in its next 11-part series, it’s likely to be a test of how well she’s received — with a view to potentially bringing Samantha back entirely in any third series.

And it’s perhaps no coincidence that it would be highly likely to air next year — 20 years since the final episode of Sex And The City.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission