Bridgerton’s third chapter is now just two days away from being released, so we have prepared our gowns, ready to dance into the throng of the ton. In other words, we have set aside a good chunk of time this weekend to binge watch the first instalment – the second drops on June 13.
Focusing on third son Colin (Luke Newton) and his relationship with Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), season three is promising more steamy sex scenes, more jaw-dropping drama, a love triangle, and the introduction of several new characters who are likely to cause a stir. Find out more about them here.
But there are several cast members who will be badly missed as they won’t be returning for season three. Find out more about why they decided to leave the show, and what they’re doing now, below.
Phoebe Dynevor
Phoebe Dynevor, 29, was part of the reason the world fell in love with Bridgerton. Playing lead Daphne Bridgerton in season one, the world watched the twisting (and torturous) love story between her and Regé-Jean Page’s Duke of Hastings. With her character’s story happily concluded at the end of season one, it made sense that she took more of a backseat in the second chapter.
This time, Dynevor won’t be appearing at all. “I've done what I wanted to do with that character and she had a great arc,” she said to Variety. “If they ask me back in the future, who knows?” Since leaving the show she’s featured in Netflix comedy Bank of Dave (2023) and erotic thriller Fair Play (2023).
Regé-Jean Page
Regé-Jean Page fans will be disappointed once again: just as in the second series, the British-Zimbabwean actor, 36, will not be appearing as heartthrob Simon Basset in the new season. Page exited the show after season one, and hasn’t looked back, appearing in the Netflix blockbuster The Gray (2022) and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023).
Explaining his decision to Vanity Fair, he said he left because he felt his character’s arc had been completed: “I signed up to do a job and I did the job and then I did some other jobs. That’s it. That’s the story. I wish it was more glamorous than that.”
Ruby Stokes
Ruby Stokes, the British actor who played sixth sibling Francesca Bridgerton in series one and two has now left the show in order to pursue new projects. And she has been successful in her endeavors, with main roles in both Lockwood & Co., Netflix’s supernatural thriller, and Paramount+’s The Burning Girls. Next up she’s set to feature in a BBC One series, The Jetty, alongside Jenna Coleman.
Explaining her decision to Variety, Stokes said: “It wasn't an easy decision. It was incredible being part of a cultural moment like Bridgerton. Every lesson I learned on Bridgerton was so valuable, and it propelled me, and allowed me to go on and take on a lead role on another show."
In season three she’ll be replaced by Hannah Dodd, and this time the character is set to receive a lot more screen time – Francesca is on the marriage market for the first time.
Ruby Barker
British actor Ruby Barker has also left the show. Her character, Marina Thompson, a distant cousin of the Featheringtons, quickly caught Colin Bridgerton’s eye, but a surprise pregnancy threw a spanner in the works. Happily, she ended up finding a good match in Philip Crane, the brother of her late lover, George.
Explaining her decision to leave the show to Digital Spy, Barker, 27, said: “When I did Bridgerton – obviously this is very much in the public knowledge – I had a mental health crisis. So whilst I was having the most amazing and most important experience in my professional life, my health was deteriorating so, so much, so, so quickly.
"It wasn't just a manageable bout of – I don't know – depression or anxiety or anything like that. I was seriously, seriously unwell, and I could not cope. And, you know, that's why I wouldn’t return to Bridgerton.”
