Cutting ties? Pippa's fiancé James Matthews pulls out of lothario brother Spencer's TV company

He is set to wed the nearly-royal Pippa Middleton on 20 May, so it's not such a far-fetched idea that James Matthews might cut ties with his playboy brother Spencer ahead of his big day.

The 41-year-old hedge fund manager – who proposed to Middleton, 33, with a £250,000 Victorian engagement ring – has reportedly stepped down as director of the former Made in Chelsea star's TV production company, MailOnline reports.

The news of Matthews' withdrawal from his younger brother's business comes days after the 27-year-old TV personality hit the headlines for flirting with a blonde and bringing her to his London home at 2am. His girlfriend Vogue Williams, 31 – who he has gushed about as resembling a younger Cindy Crawford on Instagram – was in her native Ireland at the time.

It has been said that Matthews, who will see Prince George as page boy and Princess Charlotte as a bridesmaid at his spring wedding next month, has quit his role at Pug Productions Ltd which is owned by his brother. Matthews helped him set the company up five years ago and even lent him £24,000 to get things going.

A source said: "Spencer had high hopes of the company. He wanted to move into acting and his brother was happy to help him."

Spencer Matthews has been quite a controversial character since shooting to stardom on E4's Made in Chelsea alongside Caggie Dunlop, Hugo Taylor and Millie Mackintosh in 2011.

Aside from boasting about taking drugs and allegedly bedding over 1,000 women, the Old Etonian made a brief appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2015 before quitting the show due to a steroids addiction.

He has since appeared on The Jump – winning the fourth series last month – and was also the star of The Bachelor in 2012.

The brothers' father is landowner David Matthews, Laird of Glen Affric. He is also the owner of the resort Eden Rock, St Barths. Their mother is artist Jane Matthews and is a graduate of London's Slade School of Art.

When photographs of younger Matthews emerged with a mystery blonde and published over the weekend, a source told The Sun: "Spencer was told in no uncertain terms to be on his best behaviour in the run-up to the wedding.

"His family know there will be a lot of attention, and they want it to be focused on Pippa and James for their big day — not on him. They will not be too impressed to see these pictures," they added.

Middleton and Matthews' forthcoming wedding will take place in St Marks' Church in Englefield, Berkshire, with the wedding reception being held in the Middleton's back garden.