Bridgerton is back with the first four episodes of series three are available now on Netflix. The second part, which consists of episodes 5, 6, 7 and 8, will drop on Netflix on Thursday, June 13.
The new episodes of the much-loved period drama leave hope for a potential romance between Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) as their chemistry was brewing from the first episode. For years, Penelope has been secretly in love with Colin and as she gears up to try and find herself a husband, she becomes acquainted with the new character Lord Debling, played by Sam Phillips.
Colin has returned from his summer travels, looking every inch the leading man, but is “disheartened” when he realises Pen is now giving him the cold shoulder. “Eager to win back her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence to help her find a husband this season. But when his lessons start working a little too well, Colin must grapple with whether his feelings for Penelope are truly just friendly,” the synopsis reads.
Who is Sam Phillips?
The 39-year-old is from London and studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. You might recognise Sam from his previous role in The Crown as the Queen’s Equerry, along with Grantchester, This England, Father Brown, The Syndicate and Doctors.
He’s also spent time in the theatre, starring in productions of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ at The Globe Theatre and more.
According to his IMDb profile, Sam will be lending his voice for the new video game Squadron 42 where he plays an advocacy pilot. The second of his two upcoming pieces of work is a short called Silence which is currently in post-production.
In 2010, Sam portrayed Richard Vance in the EastEnders spin-off E20. Richard was an incredibly ambitious care worker who looked after Donnie Lester, Ava Bourne and Faith Olubunmi.
On the surface, he’s terrific at his job even if he occasionally acts a little condescending. But he’s vain and not in it for the long haul and is later arrested after he sexually assaults Ava.
Sam also starred as Captain Cutts in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes (2019), Spencer Cavendish in The Syndicate (2015), and Russell in My Family (2009).
He is currently portraying Lord Debling, which is a character that is completely new to the world of Bridgerton as he was created specifically for the show and does not feature in Julia Quinn’s books
You can follow Sam on Instagram at @samosphillipos, where he has more than 27k followers.