Jonathan Bailey makes Bridgerton return as Anthony and Kate introduce baby

Jonathan Bailey is returning to Bridgerton as Viscount Anthony Bridgerton and he’s not alone. As well as his wife, Viscountess Kate (Simone Ashley), the oldest Bridgerton child is now a father.

Warning: Spoilers for Bridgerton season four, volume one ahead.

The fourth season of Netflix’s Regency-era show debuted on the streaming service last Thursday (29 February). Focusing this time on the love story between Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), the first four episodes see Benedict meet and search for The Lady in Silver not realising she and Sophie are one and the same.

The second volume will debut on 26 February and pick up after Benedict proposes Sophie become his mistress. This is after Sophie helps him recover from an injury and who he then found work for in his mother’s house… Awkward!

Noticeably absent from the first half of the new season are the Viscount and his wife. At the end of season three Kate revealed her pregnancy and the pair left to have the child in India.

Right off the bat season four clued audiences into this as it’s mentioned by Mrs Wilson (Geraldine Alexander) that “the viscountess had her baby in India”. The return of the Viscount, Viscountess and their new baby is then teased as a maid replies: “I cannot wait to meet the little heir when they return.”

The pair appear briefly in a quick look at the second half of the season. A now fully bearded Anthony lies in bed with Kate with their baby in the middle. Bailey and Ashley have both previously confirmed their return and appear on the official cast lists.

Speaking to Teen Vogue in 2024, Bridgerton‘s showrunner Jess Brownell alluded to the actor’s busy schedules, especially Bailey who since leading the second season of the show has gone on to have leading roles in Fellow Travelers, Richard II, Jurassic World: Rebirth, and the Wicked movies.

“When any of our lead actors have given over their lives for their season, in future seasons, we want to be supportive of the fact that they do have other projects coming in, and to ask actors to come back just to be in the background is not really fair to them,” Brownell said.

In January, Brownell teased that Anthony and Kate have “an integral role to play in terms of being the viscount and viscountess and the elder siblings” for the second part of season four. She added: “I think it’s lovely to have them back to advise and guide,” to Variety.

Bailey also recently confirmed that he would be returning to the stage alongside his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande in the musical Sunday in the Park with George.

Bridgerton returns on 26 February. Seasons one to three and also season four, volume one are streaming now.

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