You May Recognize the New Francesca Bridgerton From a Netflix Film Set in the 19th Century

Is it a gift or a curse to join the cast of one of television’s most successful shows? OK, bad question. It’s a gift. But is it a gift or a curse when you’re replacing an actress who’s already had the role for two seasons? (Aunt Viv, anyone?)

There’s a new Francesca Bridgerton in Season 3 of Netflix's Bridgerton. Taking over in the role made famous by Ruby Stokes, Hannah Dodd will be portraying the sixth child and third daughter of the titular family, Francesca.

We first wrote about the new Francesca Bridgerton when it was announced that Ruby was moving on to star in her own Netflix series. That series, Lockwood & Co., premiered on the streaming service in January 2023 and was not renewed for a second season in May 2023.

Ruby left Bridgerton because it didn’t feature as much screen time as Lockwood & Co. In an interview with Variety published Feb. 14, 2023, Ruby was asked if it was difficult to leave. She said, "It wasn’t an easy decision. But it was incredible being part of a cultural moment like Bridgerton. The versatility in acting is so joyous, and there was something about Lucy that just drew me to her. I found her very exciting and being presented with that opportunity, I wanted to take it and explore it.”

You may recognize the new Francesca, Hannah Dodd, from another Netflix property that happens to be set in the 19th century: Enola Holmes 2. In addition to sharing the screen with Millie Bobby Brown, Hannah appeared in Marvel’s 2021 film Eternals and TV miniseries Anatomy of a Scandal and Flowers in the Attic: The Origin, both in 2022.

In an interview with The Italian Reve published Nov. 22, 2022, Hannah spoke about taking over the role of Francesca. “It’s so nice to work on characters that come from a book series because it is so lovely to get that text to just dive into; then, you’ve also got the script, so you’ve got double the amount of information you normally would have." It's somewhat interesting to note that Hannah doesn't mention Ruby's portrayal of the character.

Hannah does mention leaning a new instrument to prepare for the role. "So, a lot of my preparation came from the books, and then, when it comes to the show, Francesca plays the piano, so I went straight into piano lessons, and we also had etiquette lessons, and dialect lessons. For me, it was working out different people that I can call from and be inspired by and put into her characterization.”

You can enjoy Hannah’s characterization of Francesca in Season 3 of Bridgerton. Part 1 premieres on Netflix on May 16, 2024, at 3 a.m. EST. We don't know when/if we'll be able to see if Hannah's piano lessons paid off.