“A pleasure and a privilege.”
Lady Whistledown is sharing some sad Bridgerton news today — the one and only Regé-Jean Page, who played Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings — will officially not be returning for Season 2 of the wildly popular Netflix show.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Season 2, which is in production now, focuses on Anthony Bridgerton’s love story.
The news was confirmed in an official statement from Netflix and Whistledown herself:
Twitter: @bridgerton
“We bid adieu to Regé-Jean Page, who so triumphantly played the Duke of Hastings. We’ll miss Simon’s presence onscreen, but he will always be a part of the Bridgerton family.”
And Regé-Jean himself tweeted out the news, calling the experience “a pleasure and a privilege”:
Pleasure and a privilege! An honour to be a member of the family – on and off screen, cast, crew and incredible fans – the love is real and will just keep growing ❤️💫 https://t.co/YBk4RvKNpx
Twitter: @regejean
He also shared a touching farewell on Instagram, calling the experience “the ride of a lifetime”:
While this might seem like a bit of a shock, the truth is it’s always been part of the plan — especially since readers of the book series know that Simon’s story mostly plays out in the first book.
Liam Daniel /Netflix
According to Variety, Regé-Jean had always had just a one-year commitment to the show.
“I have nothing but excitement for Bridgerton continuing to steam train off and conquer the globe,” he told Variety. “But there is also value in completing these arcs and sticking the landing.”
While the Ton will miss Simon dearly (even though I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll get a cameo someday!), I’m so excited to see all of Regé-Jean’s amazing projects to come and for Season 2 of Bridgerton to finally premiere!
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