Lady Bridgerton has eight children. We already know seven of them quite well, but one daughter, Francesca, is almost never seen – even in season 2 she is mostly conspicuous by her absence. But the reason has nothing to do with the character.
Already in season 1, some people might have been a bit puzzled: Why were there only seven Bridgerton siblings on the screen when it was supposed to be eight? In the last episode of the first season of “Bridgerton” then the resolution: Francesca (Ruby Stokes), the sixth eldest child of Lady Violet (Ruth Gemmell), had stayed with an aunt and returned to the bosom of the family in the finale.
So now Season 2 of Bridgerton is out on Netflix, and while we initially see Francesca in a few group scenes with her other siblings, such as in the news image above, After a few episodes nothing is seen or heard from her. And it’s not as if the younger Bridgerton siblings don’t get any attention at all: The two youngest, Gregory (Will Tilston) and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) are featured throughout the season, having plenty of scenes in which they chatter wildly, romp around or tease each other and their older siblings.
Ruby Stokes had to film Lockwood & Co
So what’s the deal with Francesca being absent? Opposite to TV line explained showrunner Chris Van Dusen, that Francesca should definitely have a bigger role in Season 2 – but then actress Ruby Stokes got in the way of scheduling troubles.
After only three episodes had been shot, Stokes had to leave the Bridgerton set and was unable to attend the rest of the filming because she had already committed to another Netflix series before Bridgerton, which she then took priority over: ” Lockwood & Co”, a fantasy series about young ghost hunters in London.
More of Francesca than in Season 3?
Van Dusen said he was very disappointed that Francesca was barely there in Season 2, but said there was no other option: “I love Francesca, but we lost her in the middle of Season 2. Unfortunately, once we had gone through all the other options, there was no other choice, as the reasons for their elimination were beyond our control. Maybe Season 3 will be our lucky charm.”
Francesca’s presence in the series is not yet mandatory. Only in Season 6 – should the series go this far (four seasons are confirmed so far) and continue to follow the book order of Julia Quinn’s original – Francesca will be at the center. But of course, it would be nice if fans could get to know this Bridgerton sister a bit by then.
