Regé-Jean Page has shut down reports he is set to reprise his role as the Duke Of Hastings in the third series of Bridgerton.
The actor played one of the romantic leads in the first series of the hit Netflix period drama, but did not return for the second, which was released earlier this year.
Reports recently claimed that he was in talks about reuniting with co-star Phoebe Dynevor, who plays his wife Daphne Bridgerton, in the next set of episodes.
However, those holding out hope of seeing Regé-Jean back in action as Simon Basset will be disappointed as he has said there is no truth to the rumours.
After hanging out with former co-star Jonathan Bailey, who plays Anthony Bridgerton, at Milan Fashion Week, Regé-Jean posted some snaps on Instagram, writing: “The boys are back in town (No, I’m not going back to the show btw – the papers made that one up.)
“But we had the best, and most stylish, catch up I’ve had in a while over some truly excellent Italian coffee and sunshine.”
Last month, it was revealed the love story between Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) will take centre stage in Bridgerton’s forthcoming series.
This is a deviation from the order of the original books, as the third instalment in the Bridgerton novel series by Julia Quinn focuses on Benedict Bridgerton’s romance with Sophie Beckett.
Explaining the change in an interview with Variety, new showrunner Jess Brownell said: “I really feel like it’s Colin and Penelope’s time. Because we’ve been watching both of these actors on our screens since season one, we’ve already invested in them a little bit. We know who they are as people,” she said.
“I feel like, especially in the last season, there are these moments of tension between them where it’s like, Colin walks up to the line of almost realising that Penelope has feelings for him but doesn’t quite get there.
“Instead of treading water on that dynamic, we wanted to push it into their season. It really felt like the perfect moment to tee it up.”
The third season of Bridgerton will also see one of the Bridgerton family getting a whole new face, as one of the characters has been recast with a new actor.
Both seasons of Bridgerton are now available to watch on Netflix.