There’s a long line of actors wanting to be Netflix’s next diamond of the season—and they’ll bare it all to get the part.
As Bridgerton prepares for season four, the show’s casting director Kelly Valentine Henry revealed she receives tons of steamy video submissions daily—beyond what she’s asked for.
“It’s every day,” she said on the June 30 episode of the Should I Delete That? podcast. “I get the most unbelievable videos, unsolicited.”
As she put it, “It’s sex basically. It’s not actual sex but it’s quite punchy, the stuff that comes through to me. It’s not nudey pictures, but not far off. It’s sad, really.”
The casting director is reportedly searching for an actress to play Benedict Bridgerton’s love interest Sophie Beckett.
While the leading couple of season four has yet to be revealed, season three stars Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan are hopeful their characters Colin and Penelope Bridgerton will continue their happily ever after welcoming a son.
“Luke and I say it all the time: I want Colin and Penelope to just be happy idiots,” Nicola told Netflix’s Tudum. “I’m really excited for them just to be massive nerds, sitting at the edge of the ballroom watching everything that’s going on.”
But all eyes will be on Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd), whose love interest Netflix gender-swapped in the season three finale to give her a queer storyline in future episodes.
“Bridgerton book readers will know what it means when Francesca meets Michaela at the end of season three,” showrunner Jess Brownell told Netflix. “You’ll just have to wait to see, going forward, what we do with that.”
As for the real-life stars behind Bridgerton? Read on to learn more about the actors and their off-screen love lives.
Nicola Coughlan
Single or at least not openly dating anybody, the scene-stealing actress who plays the former Penelope Featherington (now Bridgerton) has some phenomenal advice for those still on the market.
“Don’t compromise yourself,” Coughlan told the Associated Press in June 2024. “Wait for the right person because you’re worth it.”
Sam Phillips and Bessie Carter
Lord Debling and Prudence Dankworth (née Featherington) may not factor into each other’s love lives on the show, but the actors have made a real-life match.
And it appears that Carter’s mum Imelda Staunton approves.
Phoebe Dynevor
Daphne Bridgerton swapped vows with Regé-Jean Page’s Simon Basset, and now the Bridgerton alum plans to take her own stroll down the aisle.
Dynevor flashed her engagement ring from producer Cameron Fuller at the 2024 Met Gala.
Regé-Jean Page
The erstwhile Duke of Hastings, Page having left the show after season one, keeps his personal cards close to his vest off-camera, but has looked awfully happy in copywriter Emily Brown’s company since 2021.
Jonathan Bailey
Like Anthony, 9th Viscount Bridgerton, the English actor prefers to stay mum on romantic affairs.
But he told The Standard in December 2023 that he was in a not-secret-but-private relationship with a “lovely man.”
“Having a private life is, for me, completely critical,” the Fellow Travelers star said. “I don’t know if I would be able to be as confident to speak out on other things if I felt that my whole life was up for grabs.”
Simone Ashley
The Sex Education star, who fit the Vicountess bill for Anthony upon arrival from India, confirmed she was in a relationship with Tino Klein with a March 2023 Instagram post.
Luke Thompson
Benedict Bridgerton seemingly just wants to be free to do his thing, as an artist and in the bedroom. Though maybe he’s developing some feelings…
And Thompson, who’s not one to share what he’s up in real life, was totally onboard with his character’s journey, wherever it took him.
“It’s lovely to explore,” he told Deadline ahead of the season three finale, “but also putting down some roots and choosing something or someone also has huge value and excitement.”
Luke Newton
Newton dated actress Jade Louise Davies—her sister Amber Davies won Love Island U.K. in 2017 with then-boyfriend Kem Cetinay—for several years.
But he was snapped following Bridgerton’s June 2024 midseason premiere in London hand-in-hand with dancer Antonia Roumelioti.
Of course, most fans are just disappointed that Colin Bridgerton and Penelope aren’t together in real life.
“We think it’s really sweet,” Coughlan told Extra of the off-camera shipping that goes on for them. “I think because we truly love each other.”
Charithra Chandran
The actress who plays Kate’s sparkling sister Edwina Sharma may be single at the moment, but she sent hearts soaring with the release of her 2024 rom-com How to Date Billy Walsh, costarring her longtime friend Sebastian Croft.
Claudia Jessie
It turns out the actress destined to play Eloise Bridgerton ended up falling for the non-actor she auditioned with, casting editor Cole Edwards.
“I got a job and a fella on the same day,” Jessie told The Guardian in April 2024. “It was a great day for me, wasn’t it?”