Who are the new faces joining Bridgerton? From Hannah Dodd to James Phoon

Bridgerton season three is landing on Netflix in just a few days and fan anticipation has reached fever pitch.

“OMG the wait is taking forever. Haven't been this excited for a Bridgerton series ever!!!” commented one fan on YouTube. “I can’t wait any longer!!! Please release today,” said another.

The new season will focus on the love story between Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin (Luke Newton) and is set to premiere on May 16. “It’s just steamy across the board,” said Newton at a Bridgerton fan event in February, further teasing fans.

A flurry of first-look images have revealed a returning cast, including Claudia Jessie as Eloise, Luke Thompson as Benedict, Jonathan Bailey as Anthony, Ruth Gemmell as Violet and Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma.

But the third season is promising more than exquisite outfits, jaw-dropping drama, and heart-fluttering romances between some of our favourite characters. Further upping the ante, four new characters will be joining the main cast. Find out more about these mysterious additions below.

Model-dancer-actor Hannah Dodd will be taking over the role of Francesca Bridgerton, one of Violet and Edmund’s eight children. Ruby Stokes, the original Francesca , left Bridgerton at the end of last season in order to pursue new projects; you may have seen her recently in Netflix’s Lockwood & Co. and Paramount+’s The Burning Girls and she was on stage at the National Theatre in Till the Stars Come Down.

While the swap may seem a little strange, it shouldn’t take too long to get used to – particularly given that Francesca was far from a lead role in series one and two. In season three she is set to come into her own, on the marriage market for the first time.

Dodd, 28, who featured in Eternals (2021), Anatomy of a Scandal (2022) and Enola Holmes 2 (2022) said: “I’d watched both series before and loved the show, so it was quite surreal stepping into a world that you’re already so familiar with. I felt like a competition winner wandering around those sets, a massive fan girl.”

Sam Phillips, 39, who has had roles in Far From The Madding Crowd, In The Flesh, Pete versus Life, Micro Men, My Family, EastEnders: E20 and The Crown is also set to join the cast, playing Lord Debling. Described as a wealthy, eccentric lord, Debling has a soft spot for Penelope, so is undoubtedly going to bring a load of drama to the series.

The character isn’t in Julia Quinn’s books and has been conjured up by showrunner Jess Brownell, executive producer Shonda Rhimes and their team.

In an interview with Rhimes’s platform Shondaland, Phillips said: “Lord Debling is seen as an outsider. He lives on the fringes of society, and he is after a love match this season; he’s after someone who goes against the grain, someone who is a little bit of an outsider like him. And he spots Penelope. He thinks she’s special because she’s sort of seen as an outsider too.”

British actor Daniel Francis, who featured in Netflix mystery-drama Stay Close (2021) and Apple TV+ thriller Liaison (2023), joins the cast as charismatic Lord Marcus Anderson. While the details surrounding his character are mostly being kept under wraps, in preview photos we get a glimpse of Anderson chatting with Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell).

“He hasn’t been in the ton [Bridgerton’s high society], in London; he’s been in the countryside,” said Francis to Shondaland. “Sadly, his wife passed away, and now he’s in his second chapter, as it were. He’s come back to the ton to find love. His first marriage wasn’t a love match, and now he’s doing it for himself.”

Best-known for playing Hamish Campbell in BBC Three’s Wreck, James Phoon is joining the cast as Prudence Featherington’s husband, Harry – the wedding has happened off camera, after season two finished.

“He is a super-loving, adoring new husband to Prudence,” said British-Chinese actor James Phoon to Shondaland. “He really cares about his looks, but he also really cares about being a great guy. And he has no ulterior motives.

“He’s someone who really doesn’t fit into the gender stereotype of being a man in 19th century Britain. But what I really love about that is that he doesn’t have a problem with that; he’s totally fine being in this matriarchal family, and he doesn’t mind not being the decision maker.

“It’s nice to play someone who is number two and is happy to be in that position.”

Bridgerton season 3 premieres on Netflix on May 16