Meet Bridgerton’s Bessie Carter, who’s dating her co-star Sam Phillips: the daughter of The Crown’s Imelda Staunton and Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter, she worried about the ‘nepo baby’ label – at first

Penelope and Colin are not the only “It” couple in the land of Bridgerton. There is reportedly a brand new IRL romance brewing between Bessie Carter and Sam Phillips, who play Prudence Featherington and Lord Debling, respectively, in the show.

The actress is also drawing attention for her increasingly iconic Bridgerton character, which caused her Instagram follower count to recently skyrocket. Season three shows a softer side of her character as she attempts to walk in her mother’s footsteps.

The 30-year-old Carter’s parents aren’t just famous – they’re legendary English A-listers Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton. You might best remember Staunton from her role as Dolores Umbridge in two Harry Potter films or – more recently – as Queen Elizabeth in seasons five and six of The Crown. Carter, on the other hand, is best known for his role as Mr Carson in Downton Abbey. The three are often spotted together at various events. Carter is an only child.

Per E!, Carter revealed in an interview that she only realised that her parents were practically acting royalty when her mother was nominated for an Oscar for Vera Drake. She always knew she would get into acting, but worried about her status as a “nepo baby” at first. Rather than thinking she was born into a famous family, she considers herself born into “a love story about acting”, she said in an interview with American editor Kevin Sessums. Now, she is confident enough in her abilities to know that she is an actor in her own right, she added in her interview.