The Bridgerton season 4 finale didn’t just have a major death and a surprise wedding — but also a possible cast exit.
During part 2, which premiered on Thursday, February 26, Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) finally got her answer about taking a break from the ton when Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) granted her permission to leave.
One of the final scenes showed Lady Danbury’s home packed up as she prepared to leave Mayfair — for now. It wasn’t clear how long Lady Danbury could be gone for after Bridgerton previously faced some major cast exits.
Showrunner Jess Brownell previously addressed the assumption that Lady Danbury’s trip meant Andoh, 63, was retiring the role, telling Deadline earlier this month, “I want to say very clearly that we have no intentions of Adjoa stepping back. [Lady Danbury is] absolutely a part of the story in season 5.”
Brownell elaborated on the conflict between Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte and how she wanted to “explore the dynamic between a friendship in which there’s a power imbalance.”
“The Queen and Lady Danbury are real friends, but because of the power imbalance, it was interesting to explore what happens when Lady Danbury wants to do something for herself,” she continued. “It was an opportunity to explore new depth for their friendship.”
Bridgerton, which is based on the book series written by Julia Quinn, follows the members of the wealthy Bridgerton family as they search for love in 19th century London. Season 1 focused on Daphne Bridgerton’s (Phoebe Dynevor) unexpected connection with Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page).
After the show premiered, viewers fell in love with Page, 38, and his character, which made his departure that much more shocking. Netflix announced in April 2021 that Page would not be reprising his role as the Duke of Hastings despite plans for Daphne to appear in future seasons.
That same month, Page noted that Simon had always been pitched to him as a condensed role, telling Variety, “It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end — give us a year. [I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit, and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”
Page stood by his decision even though fans have publicly voiced their disappointment about not getting to see more of Simon’s story. Season 2 still featured several appearances from Daphne, who was accompanied by her and Simon’s son, Auggie.
However, Dynevor, 30, later confirmed her own exit from the series, which didn’t appear to be her choice. “Sadly [I’m] not in season 3. Potentially in the future. But season 3, I’m just excited to watch as a viewer,” she told Screen Rant in January 2023 about not being called back to film.
Other former Bridgerton leads, including Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley, also had very minimal screen time since their seasons came to an end.
Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix.
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