Bridgerton season 4 lead confirmed - and it's been a long time coming

And now Netflix has confirmed that Bridgerton season 4 will be focused on second son Benedict, played by Luke Thompson.

The streamer revealed the news in a video including clips of Benedict, and ending with Thompson preparing for a scene at a masquerade ball.

Benedict is the focus of the third Bridgerton novel, An Offer from a Gentleman, which many fans had expected to serve as inspiration for season 3.

However, in a big twist, season 3 of Bridgerton stepped away from the order of the original novels, with Benedict’s love story being bumped for Colin’s, which is the focus of fourth book, Romancing Mr Bridgerton.

But now fans will finally be treated to Benedict's love story in the hotly anticipated fourth season – and it looks like it will stick fairly closely to the source material, in which Benedict falls for a woman called Sophie Beckett, if Netflix's first summary of the plot is anything to go by.

"Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down - until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother's masquerade ball," the streamer teased.

Thompson has previously remained tight-lipped about which Bridgerton sibling could take centre stage in season 4.

When asked if Benedict's love story could be next during an appearance on The View, Thompson joked: "How dare you ask me such personal questions?"

He added: "I don't know. I know that it's so lovely [and] that one of the best things about a TV job is that you get to really explore a character long-form like that and fill him in slowly. So as long as I keep getting to do that."

Bridgerton season 3 is now available to stream on Netflix. Seasons 1 and 2 are also streaming now on Netflix. You can buy the Bridgerton book series on Amazon.

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