Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story trailer
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Netflix’s period-romance Bridgerton, which sees wealth, lust, and betrayal set against the backdrop of Regency-era England, has had fans gripped since it first aired on the streaming giant in 2020. However, fans of the show have noticed the absence of Ruby Stokes’ character, who has only featured in a handful of episodes since the second season debuted in March 2022.
Despite being a member of the show’s titular family, The Bridgertons, Stokes’ character Francesca has been noticeably missing from a majority of episodes.
The actress revealed her reason to exit the cast of Bridgerton was to star in the streamer’s new supernatural series called Lockwood and Co.
Now the actress has aired her thoughts about fans’ reactions to her Bridgerton season two absence.
Stokes admitted she loved seeing people poke fun at Francesca’s location online.
In an interview with Variety, the star admitted: “I did see the memes people were creating, and they tickled me! They were funny and very joyous.”
Apart from seeing the funny side of things, the actress did admit: “I didn’t want to delve too deep sometimes, because you can read a lot of stuff and start overthinking things. I like to end my scrolling somewhere.”
She also confirmed the reason for leaving the hit series, which will be at the beginning of season three, after it was announced her part was recast.
Stokes recalled the decision “wasn’t an easy” one as Francesca’s love story was likely to be the subject of one of the show’s upcoming seasons, just as it is in the Bridgerton book series by author Julia Quinn.
The 22-year-old said: “It was incredible being part of a cultural moment like Bridgerton,” but she is set to take on a new challenge as Lucy on Lockwood and Co.
She continued: “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.”
While fans may have accepted the sad news, thankfully Francesca will continue to stick around, as Hannah Dodd will take over the role for Bridgertons upcoming third season.
In an official Tweet from Bridgerton’s Twitter account, the show confirmed the new addition to the cast.
The tweet read: “The only thing the Ton loves more than a scandal is a celebration. Do joyously welcome the newest member to the Bridgerton family.”
Chris Van Dusen, who is the showrunner for the popular show, previously revealed all about Stokes’ departure in a March 2022 interview with TVLine, explaining: “I love Francesca, but we lost her midway through season two.”
He continued: “After exhausting all other options, she, unfortunately, had to come out due to reasons beyond our control. Perhaps season three will be the charm.”
At the end of season two, Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) and Penelope Featherington’s (Nicola Coughlan), friendship was on the rocks after Eloise realised Penelope was the one publishing a gossip column about the scandals in her family.
To add to the tension, Eloise’s blossoming relationship with Theo (Calam Lynch) was shattered, and Penelope’s crush on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) was dashed to pieces as well.
The Ton fans are buzzing with anticipation as they wait for the season three premiere date of Bridgerton, which is yet to be officially announced by Lady Whistledown herself.
Bridgerton Seasons one and two are now streaming on Netflix. Season 3 will be available at a later date.
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