Sanditon series 3: possible Britbox and ITV release dates, plot - and which cast members are leaving the show?

Sanditon, the ITV adaptation of Jane Austen’s famously unfinished last novel, is returning for a third series in 2023.

We don’t yet know exactly when the next series of the seaside-set period drama will air, but we do know that it’ll once again air on Britbox before arriving on ITV – and also that series 3 will be its final series.

Here’s all the news we currently have about Sanditon series 3.

What will Sanditon series 3 be about?

Sanditon series 2 will pick up from the cliffhanger ending to series 2 – so anyone watching along with the ITV broadcast rather than the Britbox showing earlier this year will want to look away now.

Suffice to say, anyway, Charlotte’s romance(s) with Ralph and Alexander will continue to cause headaches and heartbreaks, no matter who she finds herself with in the end.

Who stars in Sanditon series 3 – is anyone leaving the show?

You can expect most of your favourite Sanditon cast members to return next year for series 3 – like, for example, Rose Williams, Anne Reid, and Kris Marshall, amongst a number of other familiar faces.

However, two cast members are departing the series. Neither Charlotte Spencer nor Tom Weston-Jones will be returning for Sanditon series 3; their characters Esther Babbington and Colonel Francis Lennox won’t appear again.

Series showrunner Justin Young explained in an interview with Collider that he felt both characters had run their course and completed their character arcs, hence their departure from the series.

Is there a trailer for Sanditon series 3?

Not quite yet! That’s some way away yet, with the third series of Sanditon not expected to hit our television screens until next year. Still, you can rewatch the Series 2 trailer here if you’d like.

When and how can I watch Sanditon series 3?

2023. We don’t know much more than that at this current stage – however, we do know that Sanditon series 3 will follow a similar broadcast pattern to Sanditon series 1, arriving first on Britbox before receiving an ITV release some months later.

At present it seems reasonable to expect Sanditon series 3 to air on Britbox in Spring 2023, and then on ITV in Autumn 2023, much the same as Sanditon series 2 – but at this point, that’s pure speculation.

In the US, Sanditon airs as part of the PBS Masterpiece Theatre strand.

How many episodes is Sanditon series 3?

There’s not been official confirmation quite yet, but we’d anticipate Sanditon series 3 will have six episodes, like both its predecessors.

Will there be a Sanditon series 4?

Unfortunately for fans, there won’t be – when Britbox rescued the show from an untimely cancellation, it was for two additional series only, and Series 3 will see the show conclude.

At least it’ll get to end on its own terms this time though, right?

Where is Sanditon filmed?

Sanditon is set in a fictional seaside resort town called, well, Sanditon. The ITV series is filmed mainly in Somerset, particularly in the seaside towns Clevedon, Brean and Weston-super-Mare.

Sanditon House, the stately home where much of the action is centred, is in reality Dyrham Park near Bath, Somerset. Much of the rest of filming took place at studios in Bristol.

Both series 2 and 3 were filmed together at once, as part of one production block.

Why should I watch Sanditon series 3?

It’s one for all the dedicated fans of Sanditon series 1 and 2 – time to see how Austen’s famously unfinished novel really ends.