The juiciest gossip straight from the red carpet at the Sundance Film Festival would certainly be featured in Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers. It was there that actor Phoebe Dynevor, who plays Daphne Basset on the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, revealed she will not be appearing in the upcoming season. Quite the scandal indeed.
Dynevor was asked: “Are there any exciting dynamics coming up for Daphne in Bridgerton season three?”
“Sadly not in season three. Potentially in the future. But season three, I’m just excited to watch as a viewer,” she responded while promoting her new film Fair Play.
Dynevor’s absence can be explained pretty simply. Each season of Bridgerton focuses on one of the Bridgerton siblings’ love lives. The first season told the love story of Daphne and her future husband Duke Simon Basset, played by Regé-Jean Page. The couple pretended to be together for mutual benefit but ended up actually falling for each other. Page was completely physically absent in season two since his storyline was pretty much completed, although his character was mentioned.
Season two focused on the eldest Bridgerton, Viscount Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey — Daphne was around, but no longer as a main character. Anthony has long been single and living his best life. Because his father is dead, he is the head of the family. In season one he had an affair with lower class soprano Siena Rosso. In season two, he decides it is time to do his duty and settle down. He picks the perfect woman but then inevitably falls for her sister Kate instead. Being Bridgerton, it all works out in the end.
With the loss of both Dynevor and Page, fans are left to speculate if season three will be as engaging. Can the show go on without their star power? Time will tell.
Season three will focus on Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton, and his relationship with Penelope Featherington, played by Nicola Coughlan. The best friends might discover they are so much more. Although the last audiences saw Penelope, she was in a state because she had overheard Colin make fun of her and she got in a huge fight with her best friend, Colin’s sister Eloise. Oh did we mention, she is the Lady Whistledown herself?
Coughlan weighed in on the state of Penelope’s mind at the end of season two. “I think she’s fallen pretty much as low as she can get, losing Eloise, losing Colin. Whistledown’s all she’s got. I imagine it’s going to be very interesting, where we see her starting off season three,” she mused.
Couglan is looking forward diving in and getting to work on the series. “It’s really nice to represent different love stories and see how these two best friends, gradually, hopefully, perhaps they’ll fall in love. I’m really excited to see what the future brings and how much longer Colin can go without seeing what’s right in front of his eyes, really,” she concludes.