Inside the life of Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey and role in Heartstopper Season 3

Jonathan Bailey is set to join the cast of Netflix's hit drama, Heartstopper but who exactly is the award-winning actor set to play Jack Maddox?

Jonathan Bailey, Lord Bridgerton to some, delighted fans with news of his cameo on the hit drama Heartstopper, earlier this year.

The third season of Heartstopper, based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novels of the same name, is set to drop on October 3, on Netflix. Bailey will play Jack Maddox, an Instagram-famous author and main character, Charlie's celebrity crush. As the 36-year-old's return to our screens gets closer, let us reintroduce him.

Born and raised in rural Oxfordshire, alongside three older sisters, Jonathan found his love for acting as a child. He credits his sisters dressing him up every Sunday as one of the things that drew him to the art.

Before stepping into TV, he started his stage career at just seven years old. In 1995, he played the alternating roles of Tiny Tim and Young Scrooge in the Royal Shakespeare Company's A Christmas Carol production at the Barbican Theatre.

Since then, he has performed in major West End productions, including American Psycho: The Musical, Certain Young Men, and the Olivier Award-winning Company.

Off-stage, Jonathan has played various TV roles, starting with a part in the 1997 period drama Bramwell. Over a decade later he landed a role on the acclaimed ITV drama Broadchurch as budding reporter Olly Stevens, one of the actor's most recognised parts.

In the years leading up to his Bridgerton debut, he had stints on various series. In 2016 he joined Phoebe Waller-Bridge's comedy Crashing, in which he played a queer character named Sam. He continued his comedic streak by appearing in Michaela Coel's Chewing Gum for one episode in 2017. Then came Bridgerton, in which he plays Lord Anthony Bridgerton, a member of an aristocratic family.

Following the latest season of the series, Jonathan has worked on various projects, including Fellow Travellers. The period drama centres on the romance story of two gay men determined to preserve their love in the face of socio-political issues in America, between the 1950s and 1980s.

Away from the spotlight, Jonathan has opened up about his experiences as a gay actor. In an interview with The Standard, he revealed that he was the victim of a homophobic interaction during the filming of Fellow Travellers. In the same interview, he also shared that he is in a relationship but wishes to keep it "private."

How did Jonathan join Heartstopper?

Shortly after the announcement that he would join the Heartstopper cast for Season 3, Jonathan said he wished he had shows like the LGBTQ+ drama when he was growing up.

He told journalist Marc Malkin: “Like so many people, I watched the first series and thought it was one of the biggest, most beautiful gifts to so many people, and I wish I had that growing up."

He continued: “I had a mutual friend who knows [producer Patrick Walters] and I just said, if there’s anything I could do to help and be a part of that story."

“It’s not just for our community. It’s for every person who is a member of a family who has a member of the LGBT+ community. It helps all of us.”

Heartstopper Season 3 will be available to stream on Netflix from October 3.