Phoebe Dynevor, who plays Daphne Bridgerton in the Netflix series Bridgerton, has confirmed that she won’t be returning for the third season of the show.
Dynevor confirmed the news during an interview with Screen Rant, when she was asked whether there were any exciting dynamics coming up for her character in season three.
In response, Dynevor said, “Sadly not in season three. Potentially in the future. But season three, I’m just excited to watch as a viewer.”
While season one of Bridgerton focused on Dynevor’s character and her relationship with the Duke (played by Regé-Jean Page), the character only returned in a supporting role in season two, while Page was entirely absent from the season.
The news comes after Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell emphasised the importance of keeping all of the Bridgerton siblings in the show, telling Variety in May 2022 that “we want to keep seeing all of our Bridgerton siblings. We feel like those moments when the whole family is together is what really makes the show and makes all of us, I think, want to be a Bridgerton. So yes, you will definitely be seeing Daphne, Anthony and Kate — how much, I don’t want to say quite yet, but you have to tune in.”
However, given that Bridgerton focuses on a different romantic pairing every season, it’s not surprising that some of the central characters do choose not to return once the spotlight has shifted onto another couple.
While Dynevor didn’t share the reasons behind her absence from season three, we suspect that it might have something to do with her casting in the upcoming films, I Heart Murder and The Threesome with Logan Lerman.
The third season of Bridgerton will focus on Colin and Penelope/Lady Whistledown’s love story.
While this does mean that the spotlight will shift from Anthony and Kate Bridgerton, we’re still expecting to see most of season two’s major cast members return, including Simone Ashley as Kate Bridgerton and Jonothan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton.
Season three will also see a few new faces join the cast including Hannah New, who will be joining the show as Lady Tilley Arnold and Hannah Dodd, who will be replacing Ruby Stokes as Francesca Bridgerton.
While we sadly won’t be seeing Daphne Bridgerton in season three, Dynevor didn’t entirely write-off the possibility of returning for future seasons, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.
The third season of Bridgerton is expected to air on Netflix in late 2023.
