Bridgerton Newcomer Hannah Dodd Recalls It Being 'the Weirdest Feeling' to Walk on to Set After Watching Show (Exclusive)

Hannah Dodd admits it was surreal to join Bridgerton family.

The 28-year-old actress — who plays Francesca Bridgerton, replacing actress Ruby Stokes — tells PEOPLE it was “the weirdest feeling walking on those sets when you were watching the show” before recalling her first day on the set of the hit Netflix series.

“I think my first day was supposed to be really scary, I was supposed to have a scene with the whole family and play the piano,” she shares. “But it was very kindly moved to my second day. So my first day ended up being a scene with Mom Ruth [Gemmell] when we sit together on the sofa. So it felt a little easier and I held Ruth my whole life, and she was so nice.”

Hannah Dodd. Ash Knotek/Snappers/ZUMA Press

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She added: “And I think we went and had a cup of tea together after, like, ‘The first one is done!’ And then the second day I had to play the piano for the whole family, which I was terrified of. But after that it was like a baptism of fire, and then I got in.”

Dodd remembers the cast Bridgerton being “so lovely” and “kind” despite being “very scared”.

“I was really nervous about joining,” she explains. “But yeah, they just welcomed me with open arms, and I joked with them in the green room on the first day, and now I can’t imagine not knowing any of them. The strangest idea is that I wouldn’t know them.”

From left: Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton and Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in episode 301 “Bridgerton”.

Laurence Cendrowicz/Netflix

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The Anatomy of a Scandal star admits it “was the best feeling ever” to join the cast Bridgerton for Season 3, despite her first day jitters.

“I really couldn’t believe it. I think I was with my family at that time, which was very nice, so I was surrounded by people I immediately wanted to tell,” she says about the selection. “But it was definitely … I think it’s the biggest I’ve ever had. So it was a very special moment.”

In May 2022, Netflix announced Dodd’s casting after Stokes, 23 — who played Francesca in seasons 1 and 2 — left the series to lead Lockwood & Co.another series on the streamer.

“Francesca Bridgerton is a bit of a mystery within her chatty, extroverted family,” Netflix said in a statement at the time. “Despite her reticent nature, she does well when it comes to social affairs, bolstered by a dry wit and pragmatism that confounds her erratic tone, but seems to attract attention when she least wants it.”

From left: Ruth Gemmell as Lady Violet Bridgerton and Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton in episode 301 “Bridgerton”.

Liam Daniel/Netflix

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Dodd teases that Francesca’s “path to love looks a little different than maybe what we’ve seen the other siblings go through.”

“He has a pretty hands-on approach and doesn’t like to draw too much attention to himself,” she says. “So she wants to get in and out, find someone nice. And that is something that she [her mother] Violet, they have a fun dynamic that we can play with, because Violet obviously wants something very specific to her.”

“I’m excited that people will see a slightly different approach to the marriage market,” she adds.

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The first part of Bridgerton season 3 premieres on May 16, and part 2 comes out on June 13. Seasons 1 and 2 Bridgerton — as well as its spinoff, Queen Charlotte: The Bridgerton Story — are now streaming on Netflix.

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Source: HIS Education