When it comes to Bridgerton, Julia Quinn literally wrote the book on it. The author serves as a consultant on the Netflix series, giving her some insider insight into many of the topics fans hotly discuss. Ahead of Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2’s release on Feb. 26, she weighed in on an ongoing debate, telling Us Weekly that she doesn’t see a need for two core roles to be recast before the show adapts the last two books in her eight-part series.
No To Replacement Bridgertons
Florence Hunt and Will Tilston have played the titular family’s two youngest members, Hyacinth and Gregory, since Bridgerton filmed its first season in 2019. They were both just 12 years old at the time, meaning fans have watched them grow up over the series’ four seasons to date. That history has made fans debate whether or not they should be recast with new actors before their characters each get a chance to lead a season.
Quinn has evidently seen the discussions, and while the decision isn’t in her hands, she told Us Weekly that she thinks “it’ll probably be OK” to keep Hunt and Tilston, who both turned 19 in early 2026. As she pointed out, Seasons 5 and 6 will follow Eloise and Francesca’s love stories, so we’re years away from the youngest siblings’ time to shine.
“It takes a few years to film, so by the time we get to Hyacinth and Gregory, the actors are going to be well into their 20s,” Quinn said.
She also addressed the idea that it might be “weird that we knew them when they were 12,” saying, “We see child stars grow up all the time.”
Why The Recasting Speculation?
Some passionate viewers have made the case that recasting is in order because of how young the two actors were when they signed on for the notoriously sensual series. Noting that fans “expect that there will be nudity” each season, one Redditor pointed out that Hunt and Tilston “did not have the legal autonomy to choose that” at the beginning. In a similar line of thinking, another fan expressed their hope that the actors won’t find themselves “under undue pressure” to “do something they’re not comfortable with.” Others have worried that the audience might have trouble seeing them as grown-ups when the time comes.
Still, many fans hope to see Hunt and Tilston eventually get their chances to be Bridgerton leads — as long as the actors themselves are on board. A common position has been to leave it up to them and water down the sexual content if necessary.
“I see no reason why they shouldn’t be able to keep the roles if they want,” one fan wrote on Reddit. “If they’re not interested or not comfortable with what playing the romantic lead would entail (i.e., sex scenes), that’s totally fair, too, and no one should expect that they would be.”
For now, the spotlight still belongs to Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha as Benedict and Sophie’s season continues.
