Are Bridgerton’s Bessie Carter and Sam Phillips secretly dating? Actor has met his co-star’s famous parents Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter – as images emerge of the ‘couple’ looking cosy at an event a year ago

Bridgerton co-stars Bessie Carter and Sam Phillips have sparked romance rumors – after meeting in season three of the show.

Bessie, 30, plays Prudence Featherington in the hit Netflix show, while Sam, 39, plays Nicola Coughlan’s character Penelope’s new suitor Lord Debling.

The pair have been photographed with her family at several events, including alongside Bessie’s famous mother Imelda Staunton and Downton Abbey dad Jim Carter.

The furthest back they were pictured was in May 2023, where they looked cozy at a theater event – suggesting they could have been together for quite some time.

And those on TikTok think they could be an item, with one content creator posting a recent video captioned: ‘Bridgerton co-stars dating in real life’.

Many were quick to respond to the rumours, with one saying: ‘Okay, Featherington sisters bagging the hot one!’

Another said: ‘They are so cute!!’, while a third wrote: ‘I love this!’

Representatives for Bessie and Sam have been contacted by MailOnline for comment.

The pair were first photographed together in May 2023 when they attended the Theatrical Consequences: The 5th Annual Platform Presents West End Gala afterparty at Tequila Mockingbird in London.

The pair then attended the Wonka premiere in November 2023 alongside Bessie’s famous actress mother Imelda, 68.

They posed as a trio with Imelda in the middle, suggesting that Sam had been introduced to her side of the family some time earlier.

Then Bessie, her famous dad Jim, 75, accompanied Sam to The Crown Season 6 finale in December 2023.

He plays the Queen’s Equerry Stephen Chambers in seasons 3 and 4 of Netflix’s The Crown.

Bridgerton made its comeback last week.

And according to What’s on Netflix the hit romance series is back and better than ever, with a shocking 45.1 million views within just four days of its release on Netflix worldwide.

Within its first four days, Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 reportedly scored 165.20 million viewing hours, which equates to 45.10 million views.

Netflix described the views from the first four days as “just the beginning” and teased that more would follow.

In a press release they issued, they said: ‘Spring has arrived, which means it’s finally #Polin (no pollen) season. Part 1 of Season 3 of Shonda Rhimes’ Bridgerton debuted at No. 1 on the UK TV charts with 45.1 million views.

‘The series, starring Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton, was No. 1 in 78 countries and reached the Top 10 in 92. And this is just the beginning.

‘With part 2 coming out on June 13, who knows how high this wallflower will climb? PSA to the millions of fans retreating from a binge: Find a support group, put on some music, light a candle and put on something comfy – more of the coach-like scenes you’re craving will be here soon.”

It comes after Nicola showed off her crazy sense of style in a red satin dress with a dramatic hood as she continued Bridgerton series three promotional trail Brazil on Monday.

The actress, 37, joined her on-screen beau Luke, 31, for the screening at Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal Theater.

The pair star in the Netflix hit Bridgerton as Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton, with season three following their journey from friends to lovers.

After fans tuned in to watch the first part of the series, which was released last week, Nicola spoke about the one sex scene she felt most pressured to get right.

“The fans are horny little devils and they kept sending us pictures of carriages and carriages rocking,” she said.

‘So this has to be beautiful, moving, romantic and sexy, which is a lot of things. In her mind, after the kiss, she just completely blew it and says, “He’ll never like me. He doesn’t like me. It’s embarrassing. I’m moving on,”

“When he gets in that carriage, there’s no part of her that thinks something like that is going to happen.”

Season three of the show dropped last Thursday morning, with eager fans settling in to devour the latest antics of the Regency-era romantics.

The romp came under fire for the lack of steamy scenes in the second series, with a paltry three minutes of bedroom action amid eight hours and 29 minutes of screen time.

Viewers can already expect more from the first four episodes of series three, with at least six minutes of kissing, sex, threesomes and lesbian lovemaking.

But after being promised that this season will be the most exciting yet, viewers will have to wait until the closing moments of part one before the central love story really takes off.

Series three focuses on the will-they-won’t-they flirtation between Penelope and Colin, but the storyline of best friends realizing their true feelings proves to be a slow burner.

It ends on a steamy cliffhanger as after being unable to think of anyone else, Colin finally declares his love for Penelope in a carriage after Lord Debling left her heartbroken.

The pair eventually indulged their passions, with Colin lifting Penelope’s dress into the back of the carriage for a very steamy finale, before part two was released on June 13.

Just as fans are begging for more, even the characters in the new series continue to fall short.

Portia (Polly Walker) urges her daughters to get pregnant because there are questions about their family fortunes, and her girls are asked, “Should we tell a baker to bake?” leading to the Featherington sisters competing in the bedroom to be the first to become an heir.