A famous star from hit series Bridgerton was all set to star in new sports epic Brad Pitt movie – until their part was cut.
Simone Ashley, 30, who also rose to fame on TV as part of the cast of Netflix coming-of-age drama Sex Education, joined the cast of upcoming film F1 in 2024.
Eagle-eyed fans had spotted her at Silverstone – the home of British racing – around the time that her filming for F1 was thought to have taken place.
However, the movie’s director Joseph Kosinski has now revealed that, while the Bridgerton actress will appear in some scenes, she won’t be speaking any lines.
Despite playing Kate Sharma – one of the main characters from the Netflix period drama – it seems her fame among Bridgerton viewers wasn’t enough to keep her in the film.
Get personalised updates on all things Netflix
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
Joseph said: ‘It happens on every film, where you have to shoot more than you can use. There were two or three storylines that ultimately didn’t make into the final cut.’
He told People: ‘But Simone, she’s an incredible talent, incredible actress, incredible singer, and I would love to work with her again.’
The racing film – set for release at the end of June – follows the story of Brad’s character Sonny Hayes, who returns to racing long after a serious crash.
When Javier Bardem’s character Ruben approaches Sonny, he’s tasked with mentoring a young rookie driver named Noah Pearce (Damson Idris) for a new Grand Prix team.
Made on an estimated budget of $200million (£147m), F1 is one of this year’s most anticipated new releases, with director Joseph having helmed the most recent Top Gun film, Maverick.
The film is expected to reach a length of 156 minutes, which makes it almost half-an-hour longer than £1billion-gross comeback film Top Gun: Maverick.
Despite not appearing in F1, Simone has been keeping busy with filming for the fourth season of Bridgerton, which is expected to come out in the first quarter of 2026.
The upcoming eight episodes of season four are set to be adapted from the third book in the Julia Quinn novel series, An Offer from a Gentleman.
So far, the series has adapted first novel The Duke and I, second novel The Viscount Who Loved Me, and fourth novel Romancing Mister Bridgerton.
The Bridgerton series, which comes from Shonda Rimes’ Shondaland production house, has been following the books slightly out of order in order to better serve the TV characters.
Fans had been worried that Simone wouldn’t be making an appearance as Kate in the fourth season of Bridgerton, but the actress confirmed she would be coming back.
‘I know that I am returning. I absolutely adore the show, and the more I can be a part of it, the better. They’ve been really kind to work around my schedule.’
And in an interview with People, she promised Netflix fans that they would be seeing a lot of Kate and her new husband Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) in season four.
When she was asked if viewers should expect to see more of them in future episodes, she replied: ‘Totally, always. I think so.’
Watch seasons one to three of Bridgerton on Netflix.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
