Bridgerton actor Hannah Dodd has said her character Francesca was “feeling lots of feelings” in season four, as the unexpected arrival of her husband’s cousin Michaela Stirling throws a spanner in the works.
“I think Michaela is a really confronting energy for Francesca,” Dodd told Digital Spy during an exclusive interview. “Francesca’s put herself in boxes and lives her life by these rules, and Michaela just throws all of that out of the window and I think that’s quite confronting.”
She added: “There’s probably an element of jealousy and ‘why do you get to live your life like that?'”
Michaela, who is played by Masali Baduza and arrived in the season three finale, appears again in season four’s mid-season finale which, Dodd teased, is about to disrupt Francesca’s happy marriage.
“A different side of John comes out when he’s with her, so I think she’s an absolute tornado and I think pulls on insecurities of Francesca,” Dodd said.
“[Francesca’s] put a lot of work in and there’s been a lot of growth between [her and John], so it’s frustrating that she finally feels like they’re in a good place and then the tornado [has] arrived again and she knows it’s all going to fall apart.”
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During the Bridgerton season four premiere live-stream event, Baduza spoke on John and Michaela’s close relationship, sharing (via Tudum): “Michaela is very extroverted, and John is quite introverted, so she draws out his playful side, which she’s known ever since she was a kid.”
Baduza went on to describe her experience of working with Dodd and Victor Alli, who plays John, stating: “Victor is the best person to work with because when we aren’t filming, he’s just cracking us up.
“There was a day when he had chai lattes for the first time, and he had five of them. He was just buzzing.”
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Of Dodd, she said: “Hannah’s [been] the most supportive person during this whole experience.
“She’s written me so many lovely letters just welcoming me into this crazy world. They’re just real people, which is really nice.”
Bridgerton season part one is available to stream now on Netflix with part 2 debuting on Thursday 26 February. Seasons 1-3 are streaming on Netflix, along with Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
Read more Bridgerton news on our dedicated homepage
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.