COUNTRY & TOWN HOUSE — Bridgerton’s Hannah Dodd: Will Francesca Find Her Happy Ending?

Lucinda Baring goes behind the scenes of Bridgerton – one of the most successful shows in Netflix history – ahead of today’s release of season four, part two. From Burberry with Romeo Beckham to treading the boards as Sally Bowles in the West End’s Cabaret, Hannah Dodd is on the cusp of stardom, while her character, the poised and perenially-seeking-perfection Francesca Bridgerton, is on the edge of something else entirely.

Note: This interview contains spoilers for Bridgerton season four.

Interview: Behind The Scenes with Bridgerton’s Hannah Dodd
Dearest Gentle Readers, if you have not yet binged the final four episodes of new-season Bridgerton, look away, for spoilers lie ahead.

Francesca Bridgerton does not achieve her pinnacle – certainly not at the hands of her husband John (RIP) and not, alas, in the arms of cousin Michaela either. Fans may be disappointed as series four does not include the lesbian romp we’ve all been waiting for.

For anyone not immersed in the Bridgerton world, Hannah Dodd plays Francesca, the sixth of eight Bridgerton siblings. Each series in the smash hit Netflix drama – based on the eight books by US writer Julia Quinn – follows the love trials and tribulations of a different sibling as Regency London society swirls around them, pulled on a string by the whims of the capricious (and fabulous) Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel).

While the love matches of her siblings are defined by agonising, pent up, drawn-out desire, rewarded, when marriage is finally wrangled, by rapturous sex – in carriages, against trees, on a ladder in the library at Cliveden – and orgasms galore, Francesca’s experience falls flat. ‘There’s this narrative of “she’s not having an orgasm, that means she’s not in love”, but Francesca’s is obviously a very normal female experience,’ Dodd laughs. In Quinn’s book about Francesca – When He Was Wicked, published in 2004 – her husband John dies in chapter one and we see nothing of their relationship. ‘We have gone in another direction to show a different type of love. It might not be fireworks and passion like the other Bridgerton couples, but there is so much love between these two people, and anything that happens after doesn’t negate it. It is just as valid.’

What happens ‘after’ is her awakening with her deceased husband’s cousin Michaela (a Netflix liberty, as the character in Quinn’s book is male), which unfolds – along with fifth sibling Eloise’s love story – across Bridgerton’s next two series. Dodd can’t share any juicy details – she hasn’t even received the script yet; filming begins later this year – but her career could be about to go stratospheric.

We meet on a frigid February morning in a rehearsal space in Soho. She arrives – early – wearing double denim and Adidas trainers, her pale skin, great bone structure and long blonde hair in high relief against the grey day.

On paper, her path to Bridgerton looks gilded. Growing up in Colchester, the middle child of three, Dodd wanted to be a dancer. ‘I went to a very normal school but I had some very passionate performing arts teachers. Without them, I don’t think I would have pursued it or even understood dancing was a job.’ Her dance classes were paid for by her modelling. Her parents, whose privacy she is at pains to protect, were supportive but it was not a privileged household. ‘They’re not stage parents, making things “happen”.’ She was first spotted by fashion and beauty photographer Catherine Harbour while modelling for a local hairdresser. ‘I was quite against it at first. I was like, “No, I’m going to be a dancer.” I didn’t understand how opportunities like that can help.’
Read more

A few days ago, the infamous Los Angeles Times gave us an interview and a photoshoot of the wonderful Hannah Dodd. The actress talked about the new horizons her ‘Bridgerton’ character Francesca is headed to, as well as the things she had to face this season. With the interview, we got six new outtakes of Hannah Dodd!

LOS ANGELES TIMES — As Francesca in ‘Bridgerton,’ Hannah Dodd faces grief: ‘I had to stop myself from crying’

This article contains spoilers for Season 4, Part 2 of Netflix’s “Bridgerton.”

Hannah Dodd remembers auditioning “quite intensely” for the first season of “Bridgerton.” The English actress, 30, was up for the role of Daphne Bridgerton, one of the protagonists in Season 1 of the period romance series. But it was fated that Dodd lost the role to Phoebe Dynevor because a few years later Dodd was invited to film a self-tape for a “very secretive” project.

“I had no idea it was ‘Bridgerton’ again,” Dodd says, speaking at London’s 180 House in mid-February. We’ve selected a remote table at the members club to avoid anyone overhearing spoilers, but everyone is too wrapped up in their own conversations to notice what Dodd is disclosing about Part 2 of Season 4, which debuted on Netflix on Thursday.

Several months went by before Dodd learned the project was, in fact, “Bridgerton.” “Part of me was like, ‘Oh, do I want to go through that again?’” she says. “But I genuinely loved the material. A few days later I met with the team at Shondaland and a week after that I was at piano lessons.”

“We had seen hundreds of people and no one had felt quite right,” explains showrunner Jess Brownell, speaking later over Zoom from Los Angeles. “We saw Hannah really late in the process and we instantly knew. She is such a subtle actor. She’s able to play shyness without seeming weak and you sense she has an inner strength that’s waiting to blossom, which was really necessary for a character who starts out in Season 3 as quite shy and reserved. But from this season and beyond, she’s a character who goes through quite a bit and is going to have a fierceness to her to survive it.”

Dodd was cast as Francesca Bridgerton for its third season, replacing Ruby Stokes, who had played the role in the first two seasons and departed due to scheduling issues. Dodd felt some pressure sliding into the already existing Bridgerton family.

“Their chemistry was incredible and I could see from interviews that they seemed to absolutely love each other,” Dodd says. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, how do I join that and make sure that I have that chemistry?’ But the cast are so lovely and made me feel at home straight away.”

The events surrounding Francesca in the first four seasons largely exist before those in Julia Quinn’s novel “When He Was Wicked,” known among fans as “Francesca’s book.” In Season 3, Francesca made her debut into the Ton and eventually found an unexpected connection with John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli). By the beginning of Season 4, the couple have married and settled down in his London home. In Part 2, John tragically dies. Almost all of Francesca’s story so far has been imagined by the show’s writers.
Read more

Following the release of ‘Bridgerton’ season 4 part.2, Hannah Dodd posed for the brand new cover of the infamous Numéro Netherlands magazine. The actress also gave an interview to the magazine, you can read it right below.

NUMÉRO NETHERLANDS — In Conversation With Hannah Dodd

Hannah Dodd is quickly establishing herself as one of Britain’s most compelling young talents. From stepping into the world of Regency romance as Francesca Bridgerton in the third season of Netflix’s global phenomenon Bridgerton to holding her own opposite Millie Bobby Brown in Enola Holmes 2, she has built a career defined by versatility, restraint, and quiet magnetism. With a body of work that spans prestige television, major studio films, and breakout leading roles, she continues to navigate each new chapter with an assuredness that signals a star very much on the rise.

Joining Bridgerton in its third season introduced you to an enormous global audience. What was it like stepping into such a beloved world?

It’s pretty intimidating but magic too. It’s been so lovely getting to be on the welcoming committee for our new cast members this season and seeing that newness is actually a really normal part of the show and something that we celebrate. It is mad though, especially walking around the sets for the first time when you’ve watched them on your TV. It’s literally like stepping into your screen. I don’t know that that will fully ever leave me.

Francesca Bridgerton is quieter and more reserved than some of the other siblings. How did you approach finding her inner life?

I think that’s an element of the character that I really relate to actually. I have a thousand thoughts in a second and can really live inside my head a bit. So, I think I naturally adopted that with her. Sometimes it can be nice when you’re on set, it can take so much concentration, sometimes, in those magic moments, it can be quite a meditative experience when your brain is quiet of all your own thoughts. I just have to keep it full of hers. Luckily with Frannie, she’s such a rich character and a lot of her isn’t actually necessarily being said. So that inner world is naturally so full. The subtext is important to me as an actress anyway, but hers is so so important. There’s so much there to play with. But I think that all of us really, a lot of what makes us us is our context and our feelings not just what we say.

Did you feel any pressure stepping into a role that fans were already deeply invested in?

There is a pressure, Fran’s book is very loved. I love it myself.

I think that pressure can sometimes begin to eat away at you if you let it. It’s also a huge privilege to join a world with such support already. It’s interesting as well because character wise, we’re only just getting started with what you get to see in her book. There has been a lot of imagining what Fran’s season on the mart may have looked like and what she was like younger than where you meet her in chapter one. Working out where to start her so you can plot her journey and make sure there’s room for learning and growth. So that was an interesting exercise.

It’s always starts with the scripts, but I do love having source material. It’s just about marrying the two together.

Bridgerton is known for its scale, romance, and spectacle. What surprised you most about working on the show?

Just how normal everyone is. It’s a really grounded place to work. We have returning crew and creatives every year, so it really does have the sense of going home each season in a way. It’s so lovely, I really do feel so grateful. I do still sometimes think as if I’m part of Bridgerton.

You began your career almost immediately after leaving dance college with Find Me in Paris. How did starting so young shape your relationship with acting?
Read more

Yesterday, Hannah Dodd attended a new ‘Bridgerton’ season 4 event in the form of a masquerade ball in Madrid. She was seen amongst a lot of people, but most particularly with her co-stars Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson. Find more than 300 new photos of Hannah in our gallery!

Yesterday night, Hannah Dodd and a majority of the cast of ‘Bridgerton’ went to Paris to attend the world premiere of the series’ season 4. The actress was mostly seen on the carpet with her on-screen love interest Victor Alli. For the occasion, Hannah Dodd wore a beautiful Giambattista Valli black dress.

Last year, Hannah Dodd stared in three episodes of the short series ‘The Road Trip’. I’ve added all the screen captures of Hannah Dodd as Grace in the gallery, you can check them out right below.

Last week, Hannah Dodd attended two fashion shows during the Fashion Week in London. On September 21, she was seen at the Emilia Wickstead show and, the next day, Hannah went to the Burberry show. At both events, she reunited with her on-screen big brother Jonathan Bailey.

Hannah Dodd gave an interview about her journey as an on screen and on stage actress for Harper’s BAZAAR, partnered by Range Rover. The actress talked about her roles as Francesca in Netflix famous tv series ‘Bridgerton’, and as Sally Bowles in Kit Kat Club‘s ‘Cabaret’ show. Along with an interview that you can read right below, the actress posed for photos, shot by Aaron Crossmann.

Harper’s BAZAAR — Hannah Dodd on her journey from dancer to Bridgerton star: “I remember being in absolute awe”

A role in the smash period drama propelled Hannah Dodd to the fore. A West End debut cemented her as one to watch. But as the actor tells us, her journey is only just beginning.

It’s early Sunday morning when Hannah Dodd makes an appropriately stylish arrival to set, parking up in a gleaming, luxurious Range Rover. It’s her only day off from playing Sally Bowles in Cabaret, an emotionally gruelling, all-singing-and-dancing role at the heart of a hugely popular stage show. But despite her packed schedule, she’s chipper and eager to take her seat in front of our camera.

Her work ethic is deeply ingrained. By her own admission, Dodd was a very determined child. “I literally started dancing when I was two years old,” she tells me. She’s smiling, but is completely serious. In one way or another, she’s been performing ever since.

In 2024, the world started to take notice when she starred in Netflix’s world-conquering period drama, Bridgerton, playing the reserved and intriguing Francesca Bridgerton. Since then, she has become a regular at fashion weeks and, more recently, a bona-fide West End star.

But hers is no overnight success – Dodd’s television debut actually came back in 2018, when she played a time-travelling ballerina in the teen drama Find Me In Paris (an important part of that role, she jokes, was keeping track of “who she was being mean to”). A trained dancer (she studied ballet, jazz and musical theatre), she won the role after starring in a Burberry advert opposite Romeo Beckham – “the first time [she] had glimmers of the idea” that acting could be her path.

“I remember looking around and being in absolute awe of everything, being part of a team where everybody was at the top of their games,” she says of the experience. “I loved feeling like a tiny little cog in a big machine.” It was over three years between her Burberry moment and Paris arriving on screens, but, she tells us, “This industry can make it seem like it happens overnight. That’s really rarely the case. Things take time. And working out a way to stay in the industry and keep trying is really important.”

When Netflix began casting Bridgerton, Dodd originally auditioned for the role of Daphne, the season one lead. “I got really, really close,” she says. “It didn’t go my way.” It was disappointing, but she didn’t give up, and won roles in Enola Holmes 2, Eternals and the miniseries Anatomy of a Scandal. Though acting wasn’t her first love, it’s the one she’s committed her life to. When she talks about the intricacies, the craft of it all, how she loves to “tell a story with the blink of an eye”, she lights up. Early in her career, a director gave her a piece of advice that has stayed with her for life: treat acting like a career in medicine. “Doctors train for, like, eight years, and a lot of [actors] expect to get one job and that be it for them. And the whole point is, it’s a craft that you keep getting better at.”
Read more