Claudia Jessie Talks Season 2 of Bridgerton and Eloise Finding Love

After much anticipation, Bridgerton is set to return for its second season this week after the first instalment broke streaming records. The raunchy period drama was watched in 80 million households during its first month, making it Netflix’s biggest success at the time.

In season one, we followed the story of Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset (Rege-Jean Page), along with being introduced to the entire Bridgerton family.

Now, season two will dive into the love story of Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) — two headstrong individuals who clash at every given moment.

Not only is the upcoming instalment a huge win for South Asian representation, with the Sharma family hailing from India, but we get to explore a different Bridgerton sibling, learning more about him and finding out what makes him tick. 

Claudia Jessie, who plays the witty Eloise Bridgerton, is still soaking in the success of the first season, and couldn’t be more thrilled when she was told season two was happening.

“It wasn’t really until filming season two that I started to sense that people are really fond of the show and it has such a great reach. Other than being deeply grateful to be a part of it, I was just so excited to go back to season two and have a job again, it’s such a difficult time for everybody and we’re very fortunate to still have work,” Jessie told POPSUGAR Australia. 

Her character Eloise is in a precarious position after it was revealed in the final episode that her best friend Penelope Fetherington is actually Lady Whistledown — the woman who somehow knows everything about everyone, and isn’t afraid to spill people’s darkest secrets. 

But while we, the viewers, know Penelope is living a double life, Eloise remains blissfully unaware.

“There’s nothing more exciting than the audience knowing something but none of the characters knowing anything. I think that’s a really lovely position to be in when you’re an audience member. And I think that’s so exciting to see because they’re best mates but there’s this huge secret between them,” she said. “What I can talk about is that Eloise is going to make Penelope’s job incredibly difficult because she’s going to be there all the time. She’s out at these balls and she’s with her — Penelope is busy, she’s a businesswoman. Eloise is going to really be stunting her ability and her process. Get ready, because it’s big.”

Of course, with another season of Bridgerton comes the stunning regencycore costumes that we’ve come to know and love. From pastel corsets to frilly dresses, Jessie says the outfits help the actors get into character, with one of them making her cry. 

“I always say [the costumes] do like 70 per cent of the work. You have a different energy to you and you’re transported to that place. But it’s an incredibly thorough and skilled process from our incredible costume team. Very tailored to us, very intricate and personal. We’re there with these amazingly talented people around us, fitting them to our bodies. I remember for season two, I had a dress and I cried. I couldn’t believe I got to wear something so beautiful. You’re just blown away by the talent and effort of these people.”

While the latest season of Bridgerton is about the eldest sibling, Anthony, eventually the show will focus on Eloise and her journey of finding love. Something Jessie is already thinking about.

“While Bridgerton would never really ignore romance and the importance of that, I think it would be exciting to see her get political. And be more explorative of different groups of people, not just high society and the ‘ton. But I don’t want anyone to miss out on what Eloise’s response to love would be, I think it would be a lovely thing to see her fall in love,” said Jessie.

Season 2 of Bridgerton will drop on March 25, exclusively on Netflix.