Why Phoebe Dynevor’s Daphne Bridgerton Is Missing From Bridgerton Season 3

After leading Bridgerton’s steamy first season, Phoebe Dynevor’s Daphne Bridgerton has made fewer appearances as the show has progressed. With her quest for love behind her, Daphne—now married to Regé-Jean Page’s Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings—had a reduced role in the second season as she tended to her family. In the third season, she doesn’t appear at all in the first four episodes, despite the show’s focus on Daphne’s brother, Colin Bridgerton, and his relationship with Penelope Featherington.

Dynevor explained her absence from the show over a year before Bridgerton season 3 premiered. She told Variety in January 2023 that her work with Daphne is done…for now. “I did my two seasons,” she said. “I’ve done what I wanted to do with that character, and she had a great arc. If they ask me back in the future, who knows [though]?”

Liam Daniel/Netflix

In season 2, Daphne makes minimal appearances because she’s busy with her role as a duchess. She is frequently away to tend to her duties and take care of her family, which includes her and Simon’s son, August Basset. The same could be assumed for season 3, though her mother and siblings still mention her name throughout the episodes.

Bridgerton completely changed Dynevor’s life and career as an actor. She spoke to ELLE in September 2023 about its impact and how she never imagined being as famous as she is now.

“I was really naïve,” she admitted. “I don’t think there was a period of my life as an actress when I thought about fame. My only goal was to work as an actress and not have to have any other jobs. And so I just didn’t expect it to change my world in the way that it did.”