Simone Ashley addressed her loyalty to Bridgerton despite her character Kate’s decreased screen time.
In the course of the Monday, April 13, episode of “The Louis Theroux Podcast,” Ashley, 31, credited Jonathan Bailey for teaching her some essential lessons about making Bridgerton a priority, adding, “He set a terrific example of — for lack of a greater word — the loyalty to the show. It’s a show about family and returning home and returning to the family. I feel lots of people follow that suit.”
Ashley “learned rather a lot” from Bailey, 37.
“Now after we return, there may be that environment of coming home and feeling like we’re a part of a family,” she added. “I can only comment on what me and Johnny have done. We just really be sure that that our schedules can just make it work.”
Ashley continued: “He flew between Toronto and London backwards and forwards whilst he was filming Wicked. Thank God I’ve not been filming through the start of this 12 months. I’ve done like eight cities in a single month. So that may have been a bit nuts to determine. But I might have done it. I might have scheduled it.”
Kate’s romance with Anthony (Bailey) was the main target of Bridgerton season 2. Since many of the season was focused on Anthony getting out of a courtship along with her sister, Edwina (Charithra Chandran), before getting along with Kate, viewers were expecting the pair to play a big role in season 3.
Season 3, nevertheless, featured Anthony and Kate sharing only a handful of scenes before disappearing on a second honeymoon. They returned toward the tip of the season to announce Kate’s pregnancy, which is when the pair decided to make a journey to India. Season 4, meanwhile, explained Anthony and Kate’s continued absence by keeping them in India after the arrival of their first baby.
“I feel the strength of sending them off to India for a bit while is that it does leave the door open for them to return back, schedules allowing,” Brownell told Teen Vogue of the characters in June 2024. “I feel, understandably, when any of our lead actors have given over their lives for his or her season, in future seasons, we would like to be supportive of the proven fact that they do produce other projects coming in, and to ask actors to return back simply to be within the background just isn’t really fair to them.”
On the time, Brownell explained the planned vision for Kate and Anthony.
“I feel in any case they went through of their season, obviously, the main target for us this season was just showing them in a more loving place. But we also desired to underscore how they’re still the Kate and Anthony you understand,” she continued. “They still banter with one another and get annoyed at one another. We wanted them to indicate up in that way … They’re in a much wiser place, each of them, of their relationship to relationships.”
Brownell clarified why Anthony and thus Kate were barely in season 4, telling People, “I feel for [Luke Thompson’s] Benedict particularly, it was essential for Anthony to be elsewhere partially 1, to offer Benedict a moment to struggle with the burden of being the second son who’s filling in for the viscount.”
She added: “For Anthony to be in India — or later in Aubrey Hall — it allows Benedict the prospect to rise or to fail. It also felt incredibly essential to bring Anthony back, because the connection with Benedict is so key between the primary and the second [parts of season 4].”
Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix.