Everyone exhale, Simone Ashley is officially coming back to Bridgerton. Kate Sharma’s presence in the upcoming fourth season has been somewhat up-in-the-air ever since Netflix dropped the cast list on September 16 and fans noticed that Simone’s name wasn’t included.
But! The Sex Education actor confirmed her participation in an interview with Glamour published on October 2. Ahem:
“I know that I am returning but that’s all I can say. I absolutely adore the show, and the more I can be a part of it, the better. They’ve been really kind to work around my schedule.”
Truly thank god. And for what it’s worth, showrunner Jess Brownell previously teased a return for Simone (and Jonathan Bailey!) to Teen Vogue, saying “I think the strength of sending them off to India for a little while is that it does leave the door open for them to come back, schedules allowing. I think, understandably, when any of our lead actors have given over their lives for their season, in future seasons, we want to be supportive of the fact that they do have other projects coming in, and to ask actors to come back just to be in the background is not really fair to them. We love [Jonathan Bailey] and Simone and we’ll have them back as much as we are able to.”
As a reminder, Bridgerton season four will follow Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Beckett’s love story. Here’s the official (spoiler-free, don’t worry) description from author Julia Quinn:
“Sophie Beckett never dreamed she’d be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton’s famed masquerade ball—or that ‘Prince Charming’ would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.
Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other—except perhaps this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid’s garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy tale love?”
