BRIDGERTON BACK FOR SEASON 4

GET your dance cards ready and your latest copy of Lady Whistledown because Bridgerton is back, and this season a brand-new couple takes centre stage.

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FRONT AND CENTRE Nicola Coughlan, also known as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton with Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton HAVING A BALL Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek in new season

The Regency-era hit, based on Julia Quinn's bestselling book series of the same name, returns for a fairy-tale-inspired fourth season, this time centred on the bohemian second son, Benedict Bridgerton.

Unlike his brothers, Benedict, played by Luke Thompson, is reluctant to settle down until he meets Sophie Baek, portrayed by Australian actress Yerin Ha.

And Ha has revealed that “incredibly generous” Irish star Nicola Coughlan has been offering advice on fronting the show - “especially since she led the last season”.

In the latest run, Benedict's attitude to love begins to shift after his mother, Violet Bridgerton, played by Ruth Gemmell, hosts a lavish masquerade ball. There, he encounters the masked and mysterious Lady in Silver Sophie, a maid who has disguised herself as a member of high society.

With the reluctant help of his sister Eloise, played by Claudia Jessie, Benedict embarks on a quest through society to uncover the Lady in Silver's true identity.

Over the course of the series, viewers learn that Sophie is a maid employed by the formidable Araminta Gun, played by Harry Potter actress Katie Leung, and that she has been forced to fend for herself her entire life.

"I think Benedict gets completely challenged by Sophie, I think she sort of grounds him," says Thompson, 37.