‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Recasts Francesca With Hannah Dodd (‘Anatomy of Scandal’)

Bridgerton‘s Lady Whistledown should be all a-titter over Francesca B.’s new Season 3 look.

Hannah Dodd, who can be seen in Netflix’s recent release, Anatomy of a Scandal, has been tapped to take over as Lady Violet’s sixth-oldest child, in the wake of original cast member Ruby Stokes leaving to star in Netflix’s Lockwood & Co.

Francesca — who remained off-screen in Season 1 until the final episode — was intended to have a larger role in Season 2 of the Netflix smash, but Stokes had to leave after shooting just three episodes due to her Lockwood & Co. commitment.

“I love Francesca, but we lost her midway through Season 2,” showrunner Chris Van Dusen explained to TVLine. “After exhausting all other options, she unfortunately had to come out due to reasons beyond our control. Perhaps Season 3 will be the charm.”

Or… not.

Francesca Bridgerton is described “a bit of a mystery within her chatty, extroverted family. Despite her reserved nature, she goes along to get along when it comes to society affairs, fortified with a dry wit and pragmatism that confound the fickle ton yet seem to draw attention when she least desires it.”

Bridgerton has been renewed through Season 4, but if the chronology of Julia Quinn’s novels is any indication, Francesca will not take center stage until the sixth book, titled When He Was Wicked.

Production on Season 3 begins this summer.

Dodd’s other TV credits include Anatomy of a Scandal (where she plays a young version of Sienna Miller’s character), Netflix’s upcoming Enola Holmes 2, the teen dramedy Find Me in Paris, and Hulu’s Harlots (as Sophia Fitzwilliam).

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