Simone Ashley Says Slipping Back intoBridgertonChemistry with Jonathan Bailey Is 'Effortless' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton and Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma in ‘Bridgerton’ season 2.Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix

Kate Sharma and Anthony Bridgertonare never far away forSimone AshleyandJonathan Bailey.

It’s a “comfort” to be able to return not only to the characters and the story, but to the set itself, Ashley tells PEOPLE.

“I think all of us, whenever we go back to that set, it feels like it’s in its own time capsule. Time doesn’t move [there] as much as we do outside,” Ashley says at the New York City screening of her new Prime Video rom-com,Picture This. “It does feel like going back home and it is a comfort zone for sure.”

Bailey is a particular comfort. When asked if she and the actor are able to slip back into their chemistry easily when they get back on set, Ashley says, “Oh, yeah, totally. It’s effortless.”

Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma, Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton in ‘Bridgerton’ season 3.Liam Daniel/Netflix

Liam Daniel/Netflix

Netflixconfirmed last month that Ashley and Bailey’s characters will return in season 4, which seesLuke Thompson’s Benedict Bridgerton take the leadalongsidelove interest Yerin Ha. In the upcoming season, Kate and Anthony will be parents after they revealed they were expecting their first child in season 3 — and traveled back to Kate’s native India to welcome the child.

Ashley has previously raved about working with Bailey, who she first met nearly half a decade ago when she was cast in season 2. She told PEOPLE in 2022 thathe was an “amazing co-partner to work with,“who also made her feel very safe amid the show’s intimate storyline.

“We always had each other’s backs and made sure that each other — as much as we were doing our own work and we were on our own journeys — we would always check in with one another and make sure that they were okay,” she shared at the time.

Since their season premiered in 2022, both Ashley and Bailey have gone on to experience meteoric rises. He starred as Fiyero inWickedand will next appear alongsideScarlett JohanssoninJurassic World Rebirth, while Ashley will star alongsideBrad Pittin thehighly-anticipatedF1filmdue out this summer.

Simone Ashley attends the Amazon MGM Studios' “Picture This” New York Screening on March 5, 2025.Dominik Bindl/Getty

Dominik Bindl/Getty

The film, which premieres March 6 on Prime Video, also marks her producing debut, which she told PEOPLE was “really exciting” given that she “grew up watching rom-coms.”

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Bridgertonseasons 1-3 are now streaming on Netflix.

source: people.com