Ted Lasso's Jeremy Swift Talks Roy And Keeley, [Spoiler]'s Power Play — And Whether Zelda Can Be Trusted

At long last, "Ted Lasso" has reunited Roy F**king Kent and Keeley F**king Jones — and that's only the second most notable development in Season 4, Episode 8.

Gemma's injury, which may or may not force the striker off the pitch for the remainder of the year, comes in third.

The biggest development? That would be Rupert. When AFC Richmond shareholders begin selling their shares to an unknown third party, Leslie Higgins (played by Jeremy Swift) embarks on something of a scavenger hunt, culminating in a visit to the Crown & Anchor, where Mae leads Richmond's director of communications to an answer we probably should've seen coming: Rupert is trying to claw back ownership from ex-wife Rebecca, three years after torpedoing his career and becoming a laughingstock in pro football circles.

Below, Swift takes TVLine inside Higgins' eventful Episode 8, weighs in on Rupert's latest power play and what it means for Richmond moving forward, and reflects on the late Anthony Head.

TVLINE | Higgins winds up on something of a scavenger hunt this week, culminating in his first visit inside the Crown & Anchor. What was it like finally getting to shoot on that set — and what did you enjoy about getting to play that basement scene with Annette Badland?
Well, apart from a meeting about the ghosts in one of the locker rooms [in Season 1, Episode 6] with the full team. But I think that was meant to be in a room upstairs. I don't think it was in the pub itself. But yeah, you're right. And it's great to do. It's what this show does so well, is recalibrate the characters by mixing them up and having a different dynamic when you put people who don't normally meet up with each other.

It was fabulous. I love Annette, and I've known her on and off for a long time. And, of course, it's a scene of mystery, and it has cinematic references. I don't know whether people are going to pick this up — one particular '70s film ["All the President's Men"]. Her vape is a clue. So it was a lot of fun to do, and it had gravitas as well. It showed us both in a slightly different frame of mind than we would be in other scenes. Mae's in the basement, she's giving clues, and she's not this vinegary, bouncy character that she is upstairs in the bar.

TVLINE | It appears that Rupert is the one who's been buying back shares of AFC Richmond. What sort of challenge does that pose for Higgins — and, of course, Rebecca — moving forward?
Well, it's still up for grabs. It seems like that's the case, but we're not at 100%. And, of course, Rupert, as we know in the past, is a character who can wield enormous power and pull the rug from underneath people. They know that he's kind of Rebecca's nemesis, literally. So it's a challenge. It's a challenge for both of them.

TVLINE | We unfortunately lost the great Anthony Head earlier this year, after production on Season 4 had already wrapped. Will we see Rupert again in either of these final two episodes?
I can't really give you anything about that, unfortunately.

TVLINE | Most of Anthony's scenes over the years were with Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham and, later, Nick Mohammed, but I was wondering if you could speak to what he meant to the larger "Ted Lasso" family.
Oh, he was hugely beloved, and he delighted in playing this creepy guy. And, of course, he was the absolute opposite. I'd known him for a long time, and I did a TV [project] with him about 10 years ago where he played a similar character, actually.

He's done a few of those, and it's really interesting. Sometimes casting is about the way you look, but he's such a fun, beautiful man, and he'll be so missed. I first worked with him in 1983. It was in the same season at a theater festival where he was the talk of any group of women — and there were a lot of men who were besotted with him as well — because he was so talented, incredibly handsome, incredibly charming and so much fun.

TVLINE | Tracey Ullman's Zelda has been a wonderful chaos agent this season, and she's recently been installed as a special advisor at AFC Richmond. But should audiences be suspicious of her?
[Laughs] That was a bit of an evil laugh I did myself, wasn't it? Well, they would have a right to be because, you know, can you trust anybody who fires a gun off at a New Year's Eve party? It's a brilliantly written character, and Tracey, of course, riffs on it. In scenes, she added stuff that was just completely character-appropriate for Zelda. But she's got this dynamic that some people have that you meet in life who are like little whirlwinds and shake you up, and they're successful. So it's attractive. What are you going to do with it? Are you going to go with it? Are you going to step back and be cautious? That's the challenge with this character for the other characters in the show — and for the audience.

TVLINE | Gemma suffers what could be a season-ending injury this week, just as Rupert appears to be plotting his way back into Richmond. With or without their star striker, how important is it for the Lady Greyhounds to succeed — particularly now, with the future of the club potentially at stake?
Well, it's a balance, isn't it? The success of a team is its management and the talent of its players. So if you're going to lose somebody so crucial, what's the next step? It's really, really important because, although it's a team, if you've got a star player — and we all know how important star players are; look at what Messi did over his time — then it can throw finances out of kilter.

And it's a great time, of course, within the season for it to happen because it just ramps up the stakes for the stories and hopefully pulls the audience into working their brains themselves about what the outcome is going to be.

TVLINE | Lastly, I have to ask: Roy and Keeley get back together this week. After reluctantly finding himself in the middle of their will-they/won't-they, as Roy embarked on that series of dates, how relieved do you think Higgins is that these two lovebirds are finally back together — and that all that nonsense is over?
I think he's hugely relieved. My backstory is that — because it's not really mentioned — one of his kids has finally got him out of the WhatsApp group. That's the only way he could do it! We all know how sometimes — I don't know if you've experienced it — the first time I was involved in [a group chat], I just got message after message. It was like, "Please, please stop. I have no interest in this at all." So I think Higgins would be hugely relieved that it's just one other thing that he doesn't have to think about.