Which ‘Bridgerton’ Stars Are — And Aren’t — Returning for Season 5 After Recasting Concerns?

Bridgerton is returning for a fifth season but not every cast member is confirmed to reprise their role.

Bridgerton, which is based on the book series written by Julia Quinn, centers around members of the wealthy Bridgerton family as they search for love in 19th century London. Season 1 followed Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset’s (Regé-Jean Page) romance, who were the central couple in the first book, The Duke and I.

Season 2, meanwhile, took inspiration from The Viscount Who Loved Me, which followed Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) finding love with Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). Despite Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) being the subject of the third novel — An Offer From a Gentleman — his love story with newcomer Sophie (Yerin Ha) was pushed to season 4.

Instead, the third season focused on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) as seen in Quinn’s book Romancing Mister Bridgerton.

Showrunner Jess Brownell confirmed in January 2026 that Eloise (Claudia Jessie) and Phillip Crane (Chris Fulton) or Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela (Masali Baduza) are next in line. The suspense has kept readers on their toes — as has former cast members stepping away from the show.

Page became the most memorable exit when he chose to wrap up one season in. While Bridgerton didn’t recast Simon, Page has stood by his decision not to return. Dynevor later confirmed her own exit from the series, which didn’t appear to be her choice.

The cast has continued to evolve as new leads took over. Keep scrolling to see which Bridgerton characters are returning — and which aren’t — in season 5:

Claudia Jessie

Regardless if Eloise is or isn’t the season 5 lead, she will be a major character on the show.

Hannah Dodd

Francesca is another key role that will be front and center despite the focus of season 5.

Masali Baduza

After getting extended screen time in season 4, Michaela is now a major player on Bridgerton.

Chris Fulton

While Chris Fulton hasn’t returned as Phillip Crane since season 2, the character is expected to either lead season 5 or have a big presence leading up to Eloise’s love story.

Luke Thompson

Despite his season coming to an end, Benedict has a key role in Eloise’s story and will likely be a large part of season 5 regardless.

Yerin Ha

The same goes for Benedict’s now-wife, Sophie, after Yerin Ha confirmed exclusively to Us Weekly that she was expecting to reprise her role.

Jonathan Bailey

With Jonathan Bailey’s screen time getting shorter and shorter, it isn’t clear what the show’s plans are for Anthony.

Simone Ashley

Simone Ashley has also showed support for Kate to return but she has been largely absent since season 2.

Luke Newton

Colin is probably coming back in season 5 but not in the same way he was featured in past seasons.

Nicola Coughlan

The question about how Penelope will be involved in the show has been asked since Lady Whistledown was taken over by someone else.

Victor Alli

John isn’t coming back after he was killed off based on Julia Quinn’s novel.

Florence Hunt

The actress’ role has gotten larger as the show builds up to Hyacinth taking the lead.

Will Tilston

The same can be said for Will Tilston, who is playing Gregory a.k.a the next lead after Eloise and Francesca.

Phoebe Dynevor

Daphne hasn’t been part of the show since season 2.

Regé-Jean Page

Phoebe Dyenvor’s onscreen love interest Regé-Jean Page, meanwhile, exited the show in season 1 and hasn’t been back.

Golda Rosheuvel

Despite the real Queen Charlotte’s death in 1818, showrunner Jess Brownell confirmed the show would get creative to keep Golda Rosheuvel on the show.

Julie Andrews

When Penelope’s identity as Whistledown was a secret, iconic film actress Julie Andrews did the voiceover for the character. Season 3 shook things up by having Penelope take that over after revealing she was behind the Whistledown columns but Andrews remained as the voice in season 4. The same can be said for the new author of Whistledown, who Andrews voiced with a bit of a vocal difference.