EXCLUSIVE: To find out what the what historic locations Bridgerton where Bridgerton is filmed at are like when the camera aren’t rolling the Daily Star sent me to investigate the beautiful Basildon House
Sex, scandal and heaving bosoms are heading back to a screen near you as Bridgerton returns to Netflix tonight. The Regency romance – now on its fourth season – has shown some of Britain’s grandest stately homes in a completely new, raunchier light.
But does that Hollywood magic stick around when the cameras have stopped rolling? The Daily Star has sent me to investigate. As I walk through the extravagant rooms of Basildon Park, I channel my inner Duke of Hastings. I’m an esteemed member of the upper class, navigating the political and social complexities of blue-blooded life – and avoiding marriage at all costs.
This Palladian-style house, just outside Reading, has previously appeared in the likes of The Gentlemen, Pride & Prejudice and Downton Abbey. But for today’s viewers, it’s probably best known for Bridgerton. It’s also a National Trust property, open to members for free and anyone else for a small entrance fee. I’m here to celebrate the start of season four, which showrunners are touting as the juiciest, most risqué yet.
Straight away, I feel like I’ve been transported into the world of Bridgerton and its setting in an alternative 19th century London. I get the urge to straighten my back, as befits my social station, as I tour the rooms within.
Many are adorned with grand banquet tables, magnificent paintings – spanning entire walls – and chandeliers studded with jewels. I can feel my South London accent shift closer to the King’s English as I ask my tour guide which rooms have featured in which shows.
The historic building was constructed between 1776 and 1783 for Sir Francis Sykes, an English baronet and politician. He wanted to show off his immense wealth – generated via the exploitative East India Company. Later the house was used as a hospital for officers of the Grenadier Guards in the First World War, then to house American troops in the Second World War. It was bought in 1952 by Berkshire toffs Lord and Lady Iliffe.
The couple fell in love with the then-derelict building, which they saved from demolition and restored to its original glory. They gifted it, along with its 400-acre grounds, to the National Trust in 1978.
Keen to acknowledge the house’s colonial heritage, the charity now holds an annual celebration there to mark the Hindu festival of Diwali. It also hosts exhibitions exploring the historic links between India and Berkshire. The property is just one of hundreds in the care of the National Trust around the country – all waiting to be explored and dripping with both beauty and history. For more information, head to nationaltrust.org.uk
I have to admit, I’m not the biggest fan of the romance genre. But I couldn’t write this article without catching up on at least one series of Bridgerton – and I found myself pleasantly surprised. I thoroughly enjoyed the first season, even if I did think the affair between Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke (Regé-Jean Page) took a morally dubious turn towards the end.
I was equally enticed by Eloise (Claudia Jessie) and her crusade to uncover the identity of the ever-elusive Lady Whistledown. The shameless scandal-monger writes a pamphlet with the power to make or break esteemed local families – not that I condone that sort of thing.
Lady Danbury’s commanding persona is always a treat to watch on screen. Played by the amazing Adjoa Andoh, she dominates every room she enters with her regal presence. I’m a bit shocked to realise just how raunchy the series is, as the young nobles explore pleasures deemed unbecoming outside of married life.
I remember – without joy – that my mother is a big fan of the show. But after my trip to Basildon Park, I am left with a little epiphany. It shouldn’t have taken the release of a Netflix show for me to visit this amazing place. I stumble across a new – albeit late – New Year’s resolution, to explore more of the beautiful properties the National Trust has to offer.
Lovers of the Bridgerton series will be ecstatic to hear their wait for the latest season to hit Netflix is finally over as the first four episodes of the new season drop today, January 29. A new member of the Bridgerton cast will take centre stage as we meet Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) , a society beauty with a secret double life. Will she win the heart of the rakish Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) when they meet at a masquerade ball?
The last four episodes of season four will come out on February 26th and will be streamable exclusively on Netflix.
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