The Bridgerton season 4 storyline is going in a completely unexpected direction

Bridgerton returned to the small screen this summer after an unexpectedly long delay, and it was - by all accounts - a rollicking Regency treat. Not only has the show literally impacted the UK economy by injecting it with a £250 million boost, but season 3 had viewers glued to their chaise longue. With Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton in the lead roles this time around, fans finally saw Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton get hot and heavy (to a noughties Pitbull classic, no less) and they skipped down the aisle for their happily ever after.

Although Bridgerton season 3 was only released a few months ago, fans of the show are already calling for season 4. A number of interesting theories about the potential plot have been circulating online, and given that the series is based on the romance novels by Julia Quinn, many are expecting that the next storyline will follow on in the same order.

In response to the growing calls for Bridgerton season 4 clues, Netflix released a short video on Instagram this week announcing that Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) will be the next protagonist. Sharing snippets of the character, the streaming platform wrote: "Welcome to the marriage mart Mr. Bridgerton. Benedict’s story is coming next season."

Overlaid on the video, the text reads: "Next season's most compelling match will be unmasked... welcome to the marriage mart, Benedict Bridgerton."

The news has come as a huge shock to fans of Quinn's books, as it was largely assumed that Eloise would be next in line to fall in love. In the novels, it is her story that follows Colin's - but the show has already tweaked the chronology. Bridgerton season 1 was based on the first book of the series, The Duke and I, which followed Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, and season 2 stayed true to the order of the books, with the love story between Lord Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma as told in The Viscount Who Loved Me.

But the third season was based on the fourth book, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, which featured the much-loved Polin relationship. As Benedict Bridgerton's story - told in the third book, An Offer From a Gentleman - was bypassed in the TV series, it is now being revisited for season 4, which means that Eloise might have to wait until season 5.

Fans have been quick to comment on the news, with one person writing: "SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP."

Others are already concerned about how long they'll have to wait for Bridgerton season 4, with another adding: "Just please make haste with the next season! Don’t make us wait for ages in a melancholy existence!"

Hear, hear.