Francesca is making her mark in society as Queen Charlotte’s new sparkler in Bridgerton season three.Diamonds have been cast aside in favour of newcomer Hannah Dodd’s alluring performance as the more introverted sibling of the Bridgerton clan.
Despite being a mainstay character since season one, the role of Francesca switched hands for season three, with original star Ruby Stokes stepping down after just two seasons.
With Francesca making her societal debut, the character finally had the opportunity to step out of the immeasurable shadows of her more outgoing siblings.
With that comes more opportunities for character development and meatier storylines, so why would Stokes decide to exit the show at this exciting junction of her character’s journey?
Here’s everything we know about why Ruby Stokes left Bridgerton.
Why did Ruby Stokes leave Bridgerton?
Ruby Stokes made the difficult decision to leave Bridgerton to dedicate herself to the Netflix series Lockwood & Co.
The supernatural, detective thriller saw Stokes star as the fierce teenage ghost hunter Lucy Carlyle.
Scheduling conflicts arose while filming season two of Bridgerton and Stokes’ Francesca role was pared back to accommodate both projects before leading to her eventual departure (as reported by Variety).
Despite being thrilled to explore the role of Lucy, Stokes admitted that stepping away from the Regency drama was hard.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” she told Variety. “It was incredible being part of a cultural moment like Bridgerton.”
She later explained that the Lockwood & Co. role “was an opportunity [she] couldn’t turn down,” telling whattowatch: “Leaving was always going to be a difficult choice, but something about Lucy spoke to me.”
“It was a chance to explore a very different character and I’ve learned a great deal playing a young adult at the helm of a show.”
Her exit paved the way for Dodd to put her own stamp on the role of Francesca but not without honouring Stokes’ hard work over the years.
“Francesca is such a gorgeous character that it takes two people to tell her story,” Dodd told Elle during an interview.
“But I’m not trying to erase the fact that Ruby played her first,” she added.
“I think we had a little chat when [my casting] announcement came out, and we were always liking each other’s stuff [on Instagram]. I congratulated her on her job; she congratulated me on my job. So it’s really lovely to share this with her.”
Sadly, Lockwood & Co. was cancelled in May 2023. Variety reported that the show’s viewing figures were behind the streamer’s decision to axe it, stating:
“While Netflix was very pleased with the show, and especially the work that had gone into it, viewing numbers didn’t meet the threshold to greenlight a second season.”
Complete Fiction, the production company behind Lockwood & Co., put out an official statement saying that “making this show was one of the most rewarding experiences of [their] careers,” and would forever be treasured by them.
So what does that mean for Stokes?
What is Ruby Stokes doing now?
In 2023, Stokes also starred in Paramount+’s The Burning Girls. The thriller series debuted on October 19, 2023, but was one of several shows removed from Paramount+ earlier this year, so hopes aren’t high for a second season.
Stokes will next be seen alongside The Sandman’s Jenna Coleman and House of the Dragon’s Tom Glynn-Carney in the upcoming BBC thriller The Jetty, due to be released later this year.
What movies and TV shows has Hannah Dodd been in?
Before her debut in Bridgerton, Hannah Dodd started in a number of projects, most notably Enola Holmes 2 as Sarah Chapman and Anatomy of a Scandal as the younger version of the lead Sophie (Sienna Miller). She also starred alongside Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington in Marvel’s Eternals where she played Sandra, the adult form of Sprite (Lia McHugh).
However, despite this being her first season out in Ton’, Dodd was linked to Bridgerton long before her securing the part of Francesca.
In fact, she originally auditioned for Daphne Bridgerton, which eventually went to Phoebe Dynevor.
Three years after missing out on the role, Dodd filmed a self-tape for a scene involving a maiden ball, the show of which was kept a secret. It wasn’t until her Zoom audition that she learned that she was auditioning for Bridgerton.
“I had no time to prepare in any way,” Dodd told Elle in the aforementioned interview. “I just had to listen to what it was that they wanted and respond.
“It meant that I didn’t go in with any sort of preconceived ideas, which is a completely different way of working. Normally, I like to prep and really be ready,”This “freeing,” if not a little intimidating experience is what secured her the role which she found out about during her father’s wedding.
“I had loads of family and friends there, and it was the last day before my sister went back to Australia, so it meant that we got to have that moment [together], which was really nice.”
Dodd may not have been the first Bridgeton to curtsey before the Queen but it seems she was always destined to be part of the family, just a sparkler instead of diamond.
Bridgerton season 3 part 1 is available to stream now on Netflix, with part 2 arriving on June 13.
