“Going in for the final lunge, my crotch ripped and it was all on camera!”: The cast of Bridgerton on Season 2 at London’s press conference

Bridgerton is the steamy costume drama based on the romance novels by Julia Quinn. Following the eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family as they look for love and wealth in a fictionalised Regency London’s competitive marriage market, it gained notoriety over its erotic scenes, inclusivity and debutante rivalry in high society. 

Ahead of the release of the second series, The Upcoming had the pleasure of hearing from the creator and cast – Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton), Simone Ashley (Kate Sharma), Charithra Chandran (Edwina Sharma), Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), Luke Newton (Colin Bridgerton), Luke Thompson (Benedict Brigerton), Polly Walker (Lady Portia Featherington), Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington) and creative producer and show runner Chris Van Dusen – at the global press conference at the Rosewood Hotel. 

With much discussion about the raunchier side of Bridgerton, Dusen shared with us the way in which these scenes move the story along and what we can expect from the new series: “It was never about quantity for us. Our approach to intimacy on the show is the same as season one. We use these intimate scenes to tell a story. We’ve never done a sex scene for the sake of doing a sex scene and it’s a different story this season with different characters”

Jonathan then talked us through his intimate relationship with newcomer Kate (Simone Ashley) and how that plays out working on scenes together – “They feel explicit in the way they feel naked; it’s an interestingly cerebral way of exploring that” – before telling us about the way he has crafted his character, Anthony, who in this season takes a more central role: “He’s shaved off his sideburns and he’s ready to go… It didn’t feel like stepping into a role with a huge amount of pressure because everyone cares so much – we are all like a big family. It’s a big group effort.” He also divulged a misadventure whilst filming a scene in his fencing costume: “Going in for the final lunge, my crotch ripped and it was all on camera!”.

With flamboyant costumes and beautiful wigs a feature on the show, Rosheuvel described the effort involved in wearing the dresses: “I am double corseted. I train three times a week; I eat healthily; I drink lots of water because you have to have stamina to wear those dresses… I haven’t died yet, my insides are still intact!”.

Carter also discussed wearing the period pieces: “My favourite part of the costume was any handbag I was given. One was a little pumpkin, one was like a little carrot and one looked like a jellyfish or part lampshade… I got away with it very easily.” 

Walker told us about the trials of wearing her outfit: “My little white tights wouldn’t stay up. They were like a two-year-old’s, down by my ankles!”. She also gave us some insight into her character: “She’s highly motivated and penniless, but motivated to get her girls secure, and she was on it big time!”.

Newcomer Ashley explained how they felt welcomed by such an inclusive cast and how she related to her character Kate: “There are quite a few things I related to with Kate, I like reserved people in general – people that you have to earn their trust to get to know – and I saw that in Kate. Maybe I’m learning to be less reserved and to just get over myself, but she also has a warm soft heart.” She added later: “The show has bought a sense of joy to including many different cultures, for this one specifically South Asian culture. Representation and diversity on-screen is a very complex conversation we are all having all the time and it’s important, but for me, now, I just want to bring a sense of fun and normality to it.”

Chandran discussed their sibling relationship: “It’s unique because they only have each other and they’ve grown up in isolation, and with that comes an increased dependancy.” She told us the Bollywood song in the new series felt like ” a collision of both my worlds” before saying, “It’s hard to figure out your identity, you don’t know where you belong – before one of those defining moments where you go ‘I get it now, I can be both!'”.

We also heard from Thompson about taking a back seat in the marriage market: “He doesn’t understand the marriage market really, in a brotherly way you can experience everything that’s going on but through him, see how it’s impacting him…older brother to younger brother.” 

Newton also talked to us about his role and the personal experiences he’s going through in this season: “He’s removed himself from any romantic feeling this year. He’s come back from his travels with some interesting facial hair and he’s in his own head, so distracted and resisting stuff from season one… whilst the other characters are past, he’s very much in the same torment from last year.”

Ezelle Alblas

Bridgerton Season 2 is released globally on Netflix on 25^th March 2022.