Bridgerton: The Duke of Hastings’ spoon becomes the Connell’s chain of 2021 and gets its own Instagram account

Account already has more than 2,000 followers

(Netflix)

It was only a matter of time until another inanimate object became the nation’s next heartthrob. 

Scoff all you like, but few could deny the seismic impact of Connell Waldron’s chain last year, a delicate piece of jewellery worn by actor Paul Mescal in the hit BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People that became a nationwide obsession.

Such was the chain’s cultural and social significance that an Instagram account (@connellschain) acquired more than 170,000 followers within weeks of its creation.

And yes, the account just posts photos of Mescal, in the role of Connell, wearing the chain.

Now, the creator behind that profile, journalist Billie Bhatia, has launched a new fan account dedicated to another totem of the times: the Duke of Hastings’ spoon.

For those who have not yet binged the entire series of Bridgerton - Netflix’s latest period drama - let us explain.

The Duke of Hastings, played by Regé-Jean Page, is the lead male in the programme, starring opposite Phoebe Dyvner, who plays the naive and virginal Daphne Bridgerton, with whom he forms a fake-but-soon-to-be-real romance.

The point is that in one crucial scene, the Duke and Daphne are having tea and cake in a local pastry shop, when the camera zooms in on the Duke licking his silver spoon in, shall we say, a rather seductive manner.

It might only be a few seconds long, but one such moment has sparked a social media frenzy, with Bridgerton viewers quickly decrying the Duke’s spoon the new Connell’s chain.

“The Duke of Hastings licking that SPOON! Shonda is giving the long-suffering people of 2029 what they need.” tweeted one person.

Another simply wrote: “I need more of Duke Spoon”.

Evidently, they are not the only person making such a request given that Bhatia’s new Instagram account (@thedukesspoon) already has more than 2,500 followers.

Thus far, the account has only shared three posts (all of which are of the Duke), with the initial one explaining the purpose of the account.

The caption reads: “Welcome to the Duke’s spoon, a space dedicated not only to tempting cutlery, but charming cravats (preferably loosened), sculpted abdomens and the raised eyebrow to end all raised eyebrows.”

It’s not the first time that Bridgerton has sparked a heated conversation on social media.

Last week, viewers expressed their concerns with the nature of the romance between Daphne and the Duke, with some describing it as “toxic”. Read more here.