Bridgerton: Netflix casts Sex Education star Simone Ashley as female lead for season two

Actor will star opposite Jonathan Bailey in the second instalment of the hit period drama

Netflix’s hit period drama Bridgerton has announced that actor Simone Ashley will join the cast as the female lead for its forthcoming second season.

Ashley is best known for her role as the prickly Olivia in Netflix’s acclaimed drama-comedy Sex Education. She has also appeared in Casualty, Broadchurch and Pokémon: Detective Pikachu.

The first season of Bridgerton debuted on Christmas Day 2020, and proved a landmark hit for the streaming service, amassing a reported 82 million household views within 28 days of release.

Drawing from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton book series, each season of Bridgerton is expected to focus on different members of the Bridgerton household, a noble family in 19th-century Britain.

Season one focused predominantly on the love affair between Simon Bassett, Duke of Hastings, played by Regé-Jean Page, and Daphne Bridgerton, played by Phoebe Dynevor.

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The next season will shift focus to Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate, played by the newly cast Ashley.

“Get ready to fall in love with Simone Ashley, who will play Kate in Season 2 of Bridgerton,” wrote Netflix’s official Twitter account.

“Kate is a smart, headstrong young woman who suffers no fools — Anthony Bridgerton very much included.”

While the second season is expected to have their love story at its centre, author Julia Quinn recently suggested that she is keen to have the central couple from season one reappear in substantial ways.

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Bridgerton season one can be streamed now on Netflix.