A Bridgerton star has revealed that she has not actually met any of the cast members of the series. The popular Netflix show, which premiered in December 2020, is based on the series of Julia Quinn romance novels of the same name. It follows the crisscrossing loves and rivalries of the ton in Regency-era England, with each season seeing a new member of the large Bridgerton family fall in love. Season 1 followed Daphne Bridgerton's (Phoebe Dynevor) steamy romance with Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), while Bridgerton season 2 had her brother Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) enter a tumultuous love triangle with sisters Kate (Simone Ashley) and Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran).
Bridgerton season 3, which is currently in pre-production, will skip forward to adapting book 4 of the series, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, which follows the romantic exploits of third son Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). Throughout the first two seasons of the series, Colin has begun to fall for his longtime friend Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), who is also a confidante of his sister Eloise (Claudia Jessie) and has nursed a crush on him for quite some time. However, one of the many complications preventing them from getting together is the fact that Penelope writes a gossip newsletter as the scandal-mongering Lady Whistledown, a fictional author depicted in a voice-only performance by Julie Andrews.
Per Deadline, while speaking with the Today show, Andrews revealed a startling secret. The Marry Poppins Oscar-winner has never met any of her co-stars on the hit series. She revealed that, while she adores them and watches them on the show, "I do all my own recording far, far away from them." Read her full quote below:
[Executive producer] Shonda Rhimes and the whole gang … They’re terrific. It’s a joy and I’m thrilled that they asked me. But I’ve never met the company in person.
Of course, I see them on the show sometimes. But I do all my own recording far, far away from them.
There are several reasons why it would be the case that Andrews has never met the cast or crew of the show her voice has helped define. First, as a voice-only part, she can perform it from home. While she is originally from the UK, Andrews has lived in New York for many years. Second, while filming of season 1 wrapped before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down productions across the world, Bridgerton didn't premiere until many months later. Andrews' chance to meet other cast members might have come during a promotional tour, but pandemic restrictions certainly prevented that from coming to fruition.
One thing that must be interesting for Andrews is being able to be an integral part of Bridgerton while also being a fan. Though she obviously has access to the script, she doesn't know how any of her co-stars - including rising star Regé-Jean Page - will perform the material. While that must be a fascinating process, many fans will certainly hope she gets to meet her co-stars at some point, especially considering the fact that a photo opportunity with her and her Whistledown cohort Coughlan would be delightful to witness.
Source: Deadline