Leah Remini joins 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' season 16 cast

Season 16 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has landed a major new cast addition, actor and anti-Scientology activist Leah Remini is joining as a full-time cast member.

Variety confirms that she won't be the only newcomer, real estate agent and former Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles star Tracy Tutor also announced her own casting on Instagram on August 19. 

The two will join returning full-timers Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Bozoma Saint John, Rachel Zoe and Sutton Stracke, with Kathy Hilton and Jennifer Tilly returning as "friends" of the cast. 

Amanda Frances, who joined for Season 15, was not asked back and confirmed her own departure on Instagram.

Remini, known for her decade-long run on The King of Queens, became one of Hollywood's most outspoken critics of Scientology after leaving the organisation, detailing her upbringing within the church in her 2015 memoir Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology.