Jada Pinkett Smith not returning to Gotham

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is bowing out of hit TV series Gotham after just one year.

The Matrix Reloaded star was cast as The Penguin's ruthless crime boss Fish Mooney for the first season of the show, which is based on the Batman comics, but she reveals she has not signed on for any more.

Asked if her character will feature in season two, she tells morning show Live with Kelly and Michael, "I don't think so... I signed for a year and the year's up. But there are some great things coming ahead on Gotham, believe you me, there's a lot of good stuff coming."

But she isn't completely ruling out a future return, adding: "You never know."

Pinkett Smith insists she has had a blast portraying the TV villain, because it was exactly how she envisioned the character, the only main figure not featured in the original DC Comics franchise, when she was first offered the part.

She reveals show creator Bruno Heller and executive producer Danny Cannon called her in for a brainstorming session to shape the villainess, but instead of just discussing ideas, she decided to show them what she had in mind and sauntered into the meeting in character, with a man on a leash.

She explains, "This is an original character that was created specifically for the television show and that's been a unique experience.

"I'd met with Bruno and... we were trying to decide who is Fish Mooney? So when I came to New York, we were gonna have a meeting about the character... and I said, 'You know what? I'm gonna show you who Fish Mooney is.'

"So I called a friend of mine and I said, 'Do you have a guy who will take his shirt off, allow me to walk him around the production office with a leash, while he is on his hands and knees with 'Liar' written across his forehead in red lipstick...?'

"When the guy came, I said, 'Listen, this is gonna be intense, but I need you to stay with me. I need you to stay on your knees. I need you to stay in character...' We get there, they (producers) have no idea and he gets super nervous..."

But the daring actress' plan worked and Heller and Cannon loved her take on Mooney: "Danny and Bruno were like, 'Got it! Meeting over! We got it!'"