‘Bridgerton’ Casts Simone Ashley In Major Season 2 Role

Dear reader, a new Bridgerton casting announcement has arrived to hold viewers over until the second season comes out.

Sex Education star Simone Ashley will play Kate Sharma on the hit Netflix series. She will give Lady Whistledown much to write about when she catches the eye of Jonathan Bailey‘s Lord Anthony Bridgerton.

According to the official character description, Kate is “newly arrived in London” and is a “smart, headstrong young women who suffers no fool – Anthony Bridgerton included.” In The Viscount Who Loved Me, the second book of Julia Quinn‘s Bridgerton series, centers on the accidental love story between the eldest Bridgerton and Kate Sheffield (who’s last name they changed to Sharma on the series due to Ashely’s ethnicity). In the novel, Anthony was to marry Kate’s older sister, but Kate wishes to stop the betrothal believing that he is not husband material. Little did they know, a love match occurs that Lady Whistledown herself couldn’t have predicted.

Bailey told EW that he hopes that Anthony “meets someone who is as opinionated and offended by Anthony as we all are.” He added that the book version of Kate was a “brilliant character. She hopefully will be the voice of the audience and then they’ll work something out together.”

In January, Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) announced that a second season of Netflix’s biggest series ever is on the way. They also teased that Anthony “intends to dominate the social season” and that the gossip columnist will be ready to “report on any and all of his romantic activities.”

Bridgerton will begin production on the second season in spring.