Simone Ashley confirms she will return for 'Bridgerton' Season 3

"We're going to be back! Kate and Anthony are just getting started," Ashley told Deadline.

"We have the amazing Jess Brownell who is taking the lead as showrunner in Season 3. In Season 2, there was a lot of push and pull between Kate and Anthony, there were complications with the family, and then they find each other towards the end. I think everything is just starting. I'd like to see Kate just let go a bit more and play more in Season 3 and kind of swim in that circle of love together. I think they both deserve it," she added.

Even though viewers are all about the intense love connection between Kate and Anthony, Ashley promises the Viscountess will thrive on her own.

"She's in charge of the household now and she's got big boots to put on. I think she can do it," she said excitedly.

She added, "I want to keep that softness and vulnerability to Kate, for sure, and she can share that with Anthony. I'm just excited for her to have a home and to have a family. I'm excited to see her grow. I think I'd like to see Kate being much braver and less headstrong and more heart strong."

Ashley is proud of how Season 2 wrapped its arms around this multilayered story focused on family, love, and strong women coming into their own, instead of it being a story about a man coming between two women.

While on the surface it may seem that Kate and her sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran) are competing for Anthony, Ashley said, "It's more like three love stories are going on at once."

"It's very evident that Kate is just trying to protect her sister and if anything, she's actually being dishonest with herself, therefore being dishonest with her family. She's not afraid to own the fact that she has feelings about disappointing her family, to have that confrontation to let her family down because she's put them first her whole life. I think a lot of women can relate to that. And I think it's so brave of her to actually let that go and eventually after the mistake she makes to come forward. It was also very brave of her sister Edwina to come back together and set each other free," Ashley said.

She continued, "It's about the love story between the sisters, one between Kate and Anthony, and the love story of the family. The Viscount and the Diamond are doing it all for their families and their duty."

As for the future, Ashley hopes Edwina continues to grow into her own and potentially find a love match. Both the seasons of 'Bridgerton' are available to stream via Netflix. (ANI)