Hannah Dodd (Anatomy Of A Scandal) will be joining the cast of the Netflix romance series, Bridgerton, in the upcoming third season of the show, according to Deadline. Dodd will be replacing Ruby Stokes (A Banquet) as Francesca Bridgerton in the series based off the novel series of the same name by Julia Quinn (The Duke And I).
The character of Francesca has been something of a mystery throughout the show’s first two season. She only made two small appearances in the show’s first season. During the show’s second season, she was frequently featured in the first three episodes before Stokes’ character ended up not appearing in any of the remaining episodes for that season.
Chris Van Dusen (Grey’s Anatomy), the creator and showrunner for Bridgerton, commented on Stokes’ departure from the series to TVLine in March.
“I love Francesca, but we lost her midway through Season 2. After exhausting all other options, she unfortunately had to come out due to reasons beyond our control,” Van Dusen said.
According to Deadline, the possibility that the character of Francesca may be recast came in December when a casting notice for the role as a new series regular was put out. Stokes was a recurring guest star on Bridgerton, not a series regular, which allowed her to book another show as a series regular. Stokes is now focusing on her lead role in the upcoming Netflix series, Lockwood & Co.
Francesca, who is the second youngest daughter in the Bridgerton family, is expected to take center stage in a potential sixth season of Bridgerton based on the sixth book in Quinn’s series titled When He Was Wicked.
The stars of Bridgerton include Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls), Jonathan Bailey (Crashing), Ruth Gemmel (Fever Pitch), Florence Hunt (Cursed), Claudia Jessie (House Of Anubis), Luke Thompson (In The Club), Will Tilston (Goodbye Christopher Robin), and Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins). It is executive produced by Van Dusen, Shonda Rhimes (Scandal), Tom Verica (How To Get Away With Murder), Betsy Beers (Casanova), Scott Collins (Alias), and Alison Eakle (Inventing Anna).