The entire world tuned into watching season 2 of one of the most popular period dramas, Bridgerton. The show’s second season received such a great reaction from audiences that Netflix took no time to announce the third season. Bridgerton season 3 is currently under work, with the streaming giant putting their best team behind the project.

But it looks like a previous cast member who the fans and the cast had very much loved will not be returning. And we all know Netflix isn’t the one to recast often. So if they decided to recast a major character, they must have had their reasons. Let us take a look at which actress will not be returning.

A new face in Bridgerton season 3

We’ll probably see more of Francesca on Bridgerton next season, and she’ll have a new appearance. In Season 3 of Netflix and ShondaLand’s Regency-era period drama series based on Julia Quinn‘s romance novels, Hannah Dodd (Anatomy of a Scandal) will portray the enigmatic Bridgerton sibling.

In a recasting, she will join the enormously popular program as a series regular, replacing Ruby Stokes, who has left to star in another Netflix series, the forthcoming Lockwood & Co., based on Jonathan Stroud’s books.

Netflix issued an official Twitter post, bidding Ruby goodbye and welcoming Hannah to the family.

The position of Francesca on Bridgerton has long remained a mystery. Stokes played her in two brief cameos in Season 1, during which her character visited her aunt in Bath.

Season 2 got off to a better start, with Francesca (Stokes) appearing in the first three episodes before departing without explanation for the rest of the season; when Stokes returned to Lockwood & Co to fulfill a prior commitment.

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The first signs that Francesca would be replaced surfaced in December. When a casting ad for a new series regular was posted. Stokes was a recurrent guest star on Bridgerton, which helped her to get a series regular role on another show.

Francesca Bridgerton, the Bridgerton family’s second youngest daughter, is slated to take center stage in a prospective sixth season of Bridgerton. Based on Quinn’s sixth book, “When He Was Wicked.”

The series, which is currently seeking new Season 3 characters, will resume production in London this summer.

Are you excited for Hannah to take on the role after Ruby? Share your answers with us in the comments.

You can stream both the seasons of Bridgerton only on Netflix.