Are you ready for the return of Bridgerton... and a new hunk?
THE sumptuous sexy glamour of Bridgerton was just what we needed as we faced Christmas 2020 locked down from Covid. With the second series about to drop, DAVID STEPHENSON looks at the runners and riders in this most indulgent of regency romps
THE show that got millions of TV viewers through the festive funk of lockdown has returned with more romantic intrigue, an eye-popping colour palette, interesting wall flowers and blooming debutantes.
The second season focuses on not just one, but two unmarried Bridgertons – the rakish Viscount Anthony and the witty feminist younger sister Eloise who dares to speak her mind.
But how did we get there? This is essentially the story of two families in Regency London – the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons and their efforts to secure decent marriages for their daughters.
In the last series, Phoebe Dynevor’s Daphne, the fourth Bridgerton child and eldest daughter, fell for Regé-jean Page’s dashing Duke of Hastings, who famously refused to marry.
What ensued was a merry dance from ballrooms to tearooms to stately piles as this lovestruck couple found a way of getting together.
A way was found many times over, until Hastings’s heart melted – and a global audience of 86 million cheered.
But there is more than just romance on offer here. From the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair to the aristocratic palaces of Park Lane, the series unveils a seductive, sumptuous world replete with intricate rules and dramatic power struggles.
At the heart of the show is really the powerful Bridgerton family.
Comprised of eight close-knit siblings, this funny, witty, daring and clever group must navigate the “marriage mart” in search of romance, adventure and love.
Who in this season will inherit Queen Charlotte’s “diamond” status as the prized debutante, and attract the eye of the most eligible nobleman?
Perhaps most importantly, what will gossip columnist Ladywhistledown make of the whole thing?
And will audiences be just as bewitched without the attractions of new global star Regé-jean Page?
In the absence of last season’s star Rege, the focus of attention falls on actor Jonathan Bailey. No pressure. He plays Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton, the eldest Bridgerton son and head of the family. In this series he has decided to cease bedding low-ranking opera singers of little reputation and find himself a wife.
In the absence of his father, this delights his mother who thought her son in the last series a little dissolute. He’s still impetuous and headstrong so prepare for the course of true love to run less than smoothly.
Claudia Jessie plays Eloise Bridgerton, the fifth Bridgerton child and second daughter. In the first season, she sat around in the Bridgerton drawing room, reading books and firing off witty comments about debutantes, not least to her sister who was the “diamond” of the year. Roll on one year, and she is now in the hot seat, hoping her own status and dowry will attract the right man. She’s also a close friend of Penelope Featherington, who was of course outed as gossip columnist Lady Whistledown.this could be explosive.
Ruth Gemmell is Violet, Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton, mother of the Bridgerton children. She has two members of the family to concentrate on in this series – Eloise and Anthony. Can she get both to the altar in one season, while making sure that Anthony keeps a
wandering eye on the Bridgerton fortune... which doesn’t look that secure as the second season gets away.anthony has an eye for the ladies, but his business acumen runs a long second.
Luke Thompson plays Benedict Bridgerton, the artist of the family, who attended a boozy soiree at fellow artist Henry Granville’s house.while rather surprised to find topless models on display, this seemed to convince him that an artistic course was a sound one to follow.
Benedict has an open invitation to return, which he will probably take up in this intriguing plotline.
Polly Walker plays Portia, Baroness Featherington, the matriarch of the Featherington family. She carries the same burden as Dowager Bridgerton – when will
I get these pesky children off my hands?! Alas, she is down on financial means so her dowries are now in question. Oh dear.
Developments are afoot in this season, but it’s not the lottery win she was expecting.
Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope Featherington is the youngest and the most interesting Featherington daughter. She is also a close friend of Eloise Bridgerton, Lady Whistledown, your narrator in this caper. But Eloise doesn’t know her secret.what will happen between them in this series is one of the mysteries, affecting plots from Mayfair to Pall Mall.
Golda Rosheuvel plays Queen Charlotte, our monarch in this series. This Queen appears stern but often carries a huge comic headdress. She can’t put down Whistledown’s regular updates of scuttlebutt which makes the gossip columnist all the more powerful.
Adjoa Andoh’s Lady Danbury is a sharp-tongued, insightful doyenne of London society and has the Queen’s ear. Watch how easily she sways the onarch’s thinking in the new season. Surely rulers are not so easily won over?
Simone Ashley is joining the cast as Kate Sharma.while the eldest Sharma is technically in the marriage market, Kate believes she is too old to find herself a husband and uses all of her energy finding her younger sister a love match.
She is challenged not only by her new life in London, but also the infuriating and enticing Anthony Bridgerton, who has his sights set on her sister.
Kate’s younger sister, Edwina Sharma, is played by Charithra Chandran. Edwina is equal parts sweet and lovely – but while she may be young, she still knows what she wants: a true love match. Edwina finds herself inundated with suitors and thankfully she has her loyal and shrewd sister to vet the potential matches.
But when Edwina falls for Anthony, their sisterly bond is put to the test.
TV favourite Shelley Conn plays
Mary Sharma, their mother. Lady Mary is no stranger to the so-called London marriage market. Her marriage once embroiled her and her family in scandal. Now newly returned to London with her daughters, she’s forced to endure the scrutiny of the city yet again.watch out for her relationship with Queen Charlotte.