Who is Kate Sharma in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2?
On Saturday, Netflix gave viewers a closer look at some of its hit shows and upcoming series at its TUDUM fan event.
Bridgerton was one of the shows fans got a sneak peek at, with the first clip revealing the tense introduction between Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
While season one of Bridgerton focused on Anthony’s sister Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and her romance with Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), season two focuses on her eldest brother.
Anthony has decided that he’s ready to find himself a wife after years of enjoying the bachelor life, but he has a few requirements that a woman must meet before he can consider them as a potential bride.
The trailer sees Anthony and Kate face off after Kate overhears his requirements for a suitable mate, and she reprimands him for treating women as “breeds” and nothing more.
Kate is a force to be reckoned with, and certainly not the one Anthony was expecting, so here’s everything you need to know about the new character.
Who is Kate Sharma?
Kate is a headstrong woman whose only interest in entering the upper-class marriage market is ensuring her younger sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran) is happy and finds a suitable partner.
Edwina has been taught by Kate to be the perfect teenage girl, but while she’s entered society looking for a husband, all she wants is a true lover.
In Julia Quinn’s book The Viscount Who Loved Me, Kate falls out with Anthony after he sets his sights on her sister, seeing Edwina as the woman who would make a suitable wife and mother for his future heirs.
But Kate won’t let Anthony flirt with her sister, and she will stop at nothing to make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near Edwina.
In the novel, the surnames of Kate, Edwina, and their mother Lady Mary are Sheffield, but this was changed to Sharma to match the South Asian backgrounds of Ashley, Chandran, and Shelley Conn.
Where have you seen Simone Ashley before
Ashley isn’t new to the Netflix family, as she has a recurring role on the streaming platform’s hit series Sex Education.
The actor plays Olivia Hanan, a member of “The Untouchables” at Moordale High School alongside Ruby Matthews (Mimi Keene) and Anwar Bakshi (Caneil Kular).
In addition to Sex Education, Ashley has also appeared in a number of ITV dramas including the third season of Broadchurch and The Sister.
