'Bridgerton's' Regé-Jean Page Wins Big At MTV Movie And TV Awards 2021 After His Show Exit

Regé-Jean Page won another accolade for his role in "Bridgerton" this Sunday at the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards.

After previously being hailed this year's outstanding actor in a drama series by the NAACP Image Awards, Page took home the golden popcorn trophy for breakthrough performance for playing Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings, in Netflix's hit period drama. In his virtual acceptance speech, the 31-year-old British actor expressed his gratitude for the recognition.

"Wow, thank you for this remarkably heavy award. It has been a remarkable year for everyone," Page was quoted by Us Weekly as saying. "I know that everyone who works on Bridgerton worked incredibly hard to give audiences stories and shows that we could just feel good about, and not just because that’s incredibly valuable — that’s so important [and] it has been for me the last year. We wanted everyone to know they deserve love stories."

"They deserved happily ever afters, no matter who they are. No matter where they’re from. No matter when they’re from. Awards like this, voted for by you, let us know that you took those stories close to your hearts. Thank you," he added.

Page held his trophy tight as he went on to say, "I will hold this close to my heart, not too close because it would probably crush it. Cheers. Thanks so much."

Aside from his nomination, "Bridgerton," which premiered in December 2020, also received a nod for best show and best kiss for Page and co-star Phoebe Dynevor.

In April, Netflix, Shondaland and Page confirmed that he will not be returning as Simon Basset for "Bridgerton" Season 2. The actor said that when he signed up for the role, he had been aware that it would be a one-year deal. In fact, he said it was one of the things that drew him to the project.

"It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a year," Page told Variety about his conversation with the Shondaland producers. "[I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on."

Page was reportedly offered $50,000 per episode to reprise his role in Season 2 for three to five episodes. However, he reportedly declined the offer, with one unnamed source claiming he wasn't happy with the production's plan for his character.

"Regé is not coming back to ‘Bridgerton’ because of creative differences with [executive producer] Shonda Rhimes and her team," the unnamed Hollywood insider told Page Six. "He wasn’t happy with what was planned for his character for Season 2, which would have kept him a player but not the focal point of the show."