In this week’s Radio Times, Kirsty Lang interviews Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey. As the steamiest costume drama returns to our screens, season 2 (available to stream on Netflix from 25th March) follows Viscount Bridgerton’s search for a wife – but, is Jonathan Bailey ready for his Mr Darcy moment?
Bailey discusses the invaluable advice co-star Phoebe Dynevor gave him concerning the exertions of being the series lead – and how he will continue this legacy by passing on a notebook he has kept throughout filming to the next in-line.
Charithra Chandran, who plays Edwina Sharma in season 2 of Bridgerton, also discusses how the costume drama has revolutionised attitudes towards diverse casting: “Minorities are often alluded to as being there to tick boxes, to fill a quota. I cannot tell you how unbelievably invalidating that is. It penetrates our minds and makes us feel like we’re not worthy of success.
“I had people at university tell me, ‘You only got the lead in that show because they needed to have a person of colour in it.’ It makes you doubt everything. If I’m being really honest and vulnerable, in my head I’m like, ‘Oh God, if people don’t like me in this or if I’ve done a bad job, I’ve ruined it for my entire community.’ When you are a minority you invariably feel the weight of representing your entire community. That’s not imposed by anyone – but it’s something I feel.”
Also in this week’s Radio Times Magazine:
- Stanley Tucci reveals how his overriding concern when he had a life-threatening tumour on the base of his tongue was his loss of taste
- Ruth Madeley – star of BBC Two’s one-off drama Then Barbara Met Alan – discusses how much further the TV industry has to go to become more inclusive: “Authentic casting and telling disabled stories isn’t something we want to do every so often; it has to be a complete shift in the industry. No one’s expected to get it right all the time but we’re in 2022 now and I think we can all do it better.”
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The latest issue of Radio Times arrives on Tuesday 8th March – subscribe now to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.