By Neil Durham

WHEN? Tuesday 24 February 2026

HOW TO WATCH? Final 4 episodes of season 4 now available on Netflix. Season 5 and 6 to air

ITV This Morning’s host Alison Hammond makes for a sympathetic and enthusiastic host as we view episode 5 of season 4 of this Netflix period behemoth amidst an audience of mostly women who clap, cheer and whoop their way through the most enjoyable big screen way to watch an episode of Bridgerton.

• Read on for reasons including which RuPaul quote Ha’s character maid Sophie lives by

We’ve been here before or course – or more accurately almost 4 years ago pre-season 2 – and it’s been a joy to ride the phenomenon of a worldwide TV success delivering on the promise of its source material and giving a little bit more for its avid audience of predominantly women and gay men.

You join us at the end of season 4’s 1st 4 episodes as 1 character is exploring how she can ‘pinnacle’ with her hesitant and newly married husband, an older mother is inviting her new man for a late night ‘tea’ and the main romance is pure Cinderella with a dash of Wuthering Heights allowing this writer to mourn quietly the happy ending the sexually fluid, bisexual and openminded Bridgerton son played by Luke Thompson (A Little Life, Harold Pinter Theatre) is afforded.

Asked by Hammond how it feels to be the lead in this new season, Thompson says: ‘The beauty of this show is people can prepare you and offer advice. Each single season regenerates and takes the main couple, whoever they may be, on their own terms.

‘Benedict is quite an atypical romantic hero. In many ways he is blinded because he thinks of himself as very sensitive and open minded but the reality is Sophie’s a maid and they have to live in the real world rather than the fantasy of the masked ball.

‘Benedict learns a great deal about engaging with the real world. This is genuinely the easiest job in the world when you feel so held and supported.’

Ha describes it as ‘the best job I’ve had in my short career’ and says her character needs to follow the advice of RuPaul: ‘If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love someone else.’

Benedict’s love for Sophie introduces real jeopardy into the season as her illegitimacy, although raised as a nobleman’s daughter, could really effect the prospects of the younger Bridgertons who’ve yet to marry.

Asked about how Ha felt to be cast as 1 of the season’s romantic leads, she says: ‘I put a lot of pressure on myself because this show is watched by millions of people but everyone has been so kind.’

Fans of Bridgerton will be delighted to discover it’s about to start pre-production for season 5 with a season 6 already commissioned.

We’ve only seen the first 5 episodes of this season so far but its large cast means it inevitably starts slow with various plot strands taking a while to come together during a climactic and thrilling episode 4.

It’s the female characters we most enjoy and there’s a real sadness about the falling out between Mrs Featherington (Polly Walker, Bookish) and her housekeeper, the magnificently tart Lorraine Ashbourne (Till The Stars Come Down) during the maid wars as this season goes both downstairs as well as remaining upstairs.

Elsewhere Golda Rosheuvel’s (A Christmas Carol, Old Vic) impossible Queen Charlotte is mourning the loss of time spent with Adjoa Andoh’s (Leave Taking, Bush Theatre) marvellous Lady Danbury.

We would have loved to see more of Nicola Coughlan’s (The Playboy Of The Western World, National Theatre) remorseful gossip columnist Lady Whistledown/Penelope Bridgerton.

Bridgerton season 4 survives the departure of the charismatic Jonathan Bailey (Wicked: For Good), proves Thompson and Ha can lead the series and successfully maintains our interest in the futures of a host of brilliant characters in less central roles.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Bridgerton Tickets
• Have you watched Bridgerton before and what did you think of this season? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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