‘Sanditon’: Ben Lloyd-Hughes Reveals Charlotte is the Only Person Who Gets Colbourne in “Dad Mode”

In the penultimate episode of Sanditon on Masterpiece on PBS, Alexander Colbourne (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) turns to Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) in his hour of need. His niece, Augusta Markham (Eloise Webb), has run away with Edward Denham (Jack Fox), and Colbourne requests that Charlotte accompany him on the pursuit. It ironically puts the couple in a rather scandalous situation for Regency society — a man and an unmarried woman alone in a carriage? Without a chaperone!?! — but clearly Colbourne doesn’t care about that. For some reason he needs Charlotte in this moment of crisis.

Sanditon star Rose Williams revealed to Decider that seeing Colbourne in “dad mode” in this episode was actually what convinced Charlotte she had to finally call off her engagement to Ralph (Cai Bridgen) to be with the man she truly loved. When Decider interviewed Ben Lloyd-Hughes, he explained that Charlotte is the only person who could have unlocked that aspect of Colbourne’s personality. In fact, she’s the only person who could have understood what the situation with Augusta meant for Colbourne.

“I think [Charlotte] really is the only person who can help him in that situation because if you think about where they were when we first saw Colbourne at the beginning of Season 2 and his relationship with Augusta, Charlotte really was the one to change all that,” Lloyd-Hughes said. “And he hasn’t met anyone since — even Mrs. Wheatley, who, for all her strength, does not have the same capacity to understand that situation.”

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“The context of Edward Denham and all those things, there really would be no better person [than Charlotte]. If you’re gonna find Augusta, you have to be with someone who knows how Augusta thinks and knows how Edward Denham would think as well, I suppose.”

Of course, Lloyd-Hughes cheekily admitted that there was another reason why Colbourne would want Charlotte with him in the situation. One that anyone who’s maybe texted an ex out of the blue could understand.

“I mean, it’s a question of whether he’s doing things subconsciously or not and how much his heart is ruling his head there in convincing himself. I’ve certainly been in those moments where you convince yourself that the only person who can help you in this situation is your ex-girlfriend, which is really weird. Like, ‘I just had to text you because I was just watching this thing on TV and you’re the only person who can understand,'” Lloyd-Hughes said.

“And we’ve all been there in those moments, where you kind of try to find a legitimate reason as to why you can contact them, and then you spend two hours writing that perfect, breezy text of like, ‘Oh, hey! I was just thinking about you just randomly. I have thought about you for ages.’ So I think there’s probably an element of that, of he might not even realize what he does is ‘Oh my God, I really want to spend time with her in a legitimate format without bloody Ralph.'”

The good news is as of the end of Sanditon Season 3 Episode 5, Charlotte and Ralph’s engagement is no more. The bad news is that doesn’t necessarily mean Colbourne and Charlotte are guaranteed a happily ever after. Something tells us there might yet be one more hurdle for these love birds.

All six episodes of Sanditon Season 3 are now streaming on PBS Passport. The Sanditon series finale will premiere on Masterpiece on PBS on Sunday, April 23 at 9/8 C.