{"id":270959,"date":"2026-02-02T23:51:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T23:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/270959\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T23:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T23:51:14","slug":"in-bridgerton-season-four-luke-newton-and-hannah-dodd-follow-different-paths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/270959\/","title":{"rendered":"In \u2018Bridgerton\u2019 Season Four, Luke Newton and Hannah Dodd Follow Different Paths"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the time finally arrived for us to begin interviewing Bridgerton<\/a> cast members ahead of season 4, Luke Newton and Hannah Dodd (who portray Bridgerton siblings Colin and Francesca, respectively) were paired for an interview with Shondaland. While we love all manner of chats with the names and faces of Netflix\u2019s hit series, the link between Newton and Dodd\u2019s characters aren\u2019t, perhaps, immediately obvious. But then again, Bridgerton has been giving us twists and turns for three seasons now, and we wouldn\u2019t expect anything less for this fourth season \u2014 and the two actors agree.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes complete sense!\u201d Dodd laughs, using her hands for emphasis.<\/p>\n

\"woman<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know why it makes complete sense?\u201d Newton jumps in. \u201cBecause our journeys are the complete opposite this season. Francesca is really trying to figure out married life, having only met someone last season, and all the complications that come with that, and Colin is smooth sailing. He knows his wife; he\u2019s known her since they were kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

With part 1 of Bridgerton season 4 now streaming on Netflix, you\u2019re free to watch and see how that all pans out. But these two, with sibling banter and all, don\u2019t just play a brother and a sister on the show \u2014 they act like they\u2019ve known each other their whole lives.<\/p>\n

\"two<\/p>\n

Claudia Jessie and Hannah Dodd<\/p>\n

Netflix<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been like that since day one,\u201d says Dodd, with Newton nodding in agreement.<\/p>\n

Though Dodd<\/a> only joined the ton\u2019s most respected family in season three, it\u2019s hard to remember a time when she wasn\u2019t practicing her pianoforte in the corner of the drawing room. And as Newton\u2019s takes on a more supporting role in season 4 after leading last season<\/a> alongside Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington, we still want more of these characters we\u2019ve grown to care for immensely since we all first watched the series, locked down in our living rooms.<\/p>\n

In our conversation about this season\u2019s first four episodes, Newton and Dodd discuss the evolution of their characters. Dodd reflects on her growth within the cast, as well as Francesca\u2019s journey from meeting her husband just last season, to being in love, to struggling through the parts of marriage that were never explained to her. And Newton touches on Colin\u2019s newfound confidence and being a first-time father.<\/p>\n

From their on-the-set camaraderie to hinting at an eventful second part of the season, the pair bring laughter and playfulness when we sit down to dish on what we\u2019ve just devoured in part one and what we have to look forward to in part two.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

VALENTINA VALENTINI: As much as we love seeing the family together \u2014 and we do get a lot of those moments in this season \u2014 the reality is everyone is pairing off, moving away, and starting their own families. What is it like to have this family structure change so much over four seasons?<\/p>\n

LUKE NEWTON: Looking back now, when I really think about it, year after year, so much has changed for all these characters. And it continues to do so, not just season to season but episode to episode even. When we come back to the family dynamic, it\u2019s that same feeling when you go home, no matter how old you are. When you go back to your parents, you kind of fall back into being a child again; you fall back into the old responsibilities that you did or didn\u2019t take on. And there is something really special about being a part of that dynamic, even as an audience. It\u2019s what people love about the show \u2014 that when they get back together, no one takes themselves too seriously, everyone is fair game, and it\u2019s just as chaotic in the show as it is on set amongst all of us.<\/p>\n

VV: Though Colin, for sure, has taken on a bit of a cocky attitude now that he\u2019s found love, gotten married, had a baby, and so on\u2026<\/p>\n

LN: Oh, yeah, he\u2019s all knowing now; he\u2019s got everything figured out [smirks]. Look, I\u2019m so happy for him<\/a> because last year, he was really going through it all, and now it\u2019s so nice that he feels like he\u2019s got this sense of purpose. He\u2019s like, \u201cI know how to find the love of my life. I\u2019ve done it, completed it, and if anyone else wants to know, I will give you some advice to anyone who will listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

HANNAH DODD: Even though it took you so many years!<\/p>\n

\"three<\/p>\n

Three Bridgerton brothers from L-R: Luke Newton, Luke Thompson, and Will Tilston<\/p>\n

Netflix<\/p>\n

VV: And now, you\u2019re a dad! What has it been like to step into that role? What\u2019s it like acting with a baby?!<\/p>\n

LN: Well, I didn\u2019t think it would happen to me at this point in my career, but it was great! Nicola [Coughlan] and I would often joke about how we felt like we were bad parents because we didn\u2019t ever know where our kid was, like when she was visiting the queen and I was off at a ball. I imagine that we have amazing staff and mothers and maids that we love and trust with our child, but yeah, we didn\u2019t actually have a lot of time with our baby, so maybe there\u2019s more of that in the future. Maybe more kids. Who knows?<\/p>\n

VV: Hannah, the last time we talked, you mentioned that coming on to the show for the third season put you in a different headspace than everyone else. How do you feel in this family unit now that you\u2019ve completed your second filming season?<\/p>\n

HD: Oh, it was so nice not being the new kid! It was great to go straight back into it, and it literally feels like no time has passed. It\u2019s really weird to think that I didn\u2019t know you guys a couple years ago [gestures to Newton]. It\u2019s bizarre because they really have become like a second family. We were saying earlier that you end up spending more time with the Bridgerton family than you do with your actual family for the months that you\u2019re filming.<\/p>\n

LN: That\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

HD: I think this year I came with a slightly different energy. Obviously, I was very nervous, but I felt a little bit more settled. Especially within the sibling dynamic, having worked some of those things out, it was nice to not overthink anything; I could let things be in the family scenes a little bit more and just respond to everybody.<\/p>\n

VV: Nervous like normal actor nerves or like something different?<\/p>\n

HD: I think last year it was like \u2026 terror. This year, it was like your everyday nerves.<\/p>\n

LN: Fizz.<\/p>\n

HD: Yeah, fizz. There you go.<\/p>\n

VV: Well, it\u2019s not like your character didn\u2019t have a lot to deal with even in these first four episodes. Francesca is really trying to figure out some things \u2014 she\u2019s faking orgasms; she truly loves her husband but is finding it hard to connect. Tell me about this throughline for her.<\/p>\n

HD: The one thing that I always want to say is that she\u2019s so in love with John, and I do think John is so in love with Francesca as well. And I think that\u2019s the only reason that this storyline works so well \u2014 it\u2019s actually two people who really, really want to improve their relationship. And not that it\u2019s in a bad place at all \u2014 it is just that relationships take work, and just because you are married, it doesn\u2019t mean that you are done; you need to keep working and growing, as individuals but also together. So, it\u2019s nice that we have a couple who are not experiencing the magic right away that some of the other couples have had. It just highlights this whole idea that men are allowed to have experience and very often have experienced [more of the world], and women do not. Women are sent into these marriages with absolutely no idea.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

VV: That \u201cpinnacle\u201d conversation with Violet is such a funny throwback to Daphne\u2019s storyline.<\/p>\n

HD: Well, we all know that Violet Bridgerton is not the best person for those conversations! It was nice to see Francesca kind of running around the ton, passionately trying to get that information. I am very proud of her that she will not give up that mission \u2014 it really means something to her \u2014 but also to see her leaning on her female counterparts for that information and pushing herself out of her comfort zone to have those conversations and close that gap between her and John.<\/p>\n

VV: Tell me about working out that scene where you and Ruth Gemmell talk about orgasms.<\/p>\n

HD: Ruth did so much of the work in that scene for me! She\u2019s so funny and so brilliant in general, but that scene was challenging just to keep a straight face. I\u2019m genuinely confused that there is one take that they could use because my memory is that I ruined every single take from laughing. But in all seriousness, I do think it\u2019s a scene that kind of drills home that Violet\u2019s not gotten any better about having these conversations with her children. And I keep saying that by Hyacinth\u2019s season, there should be a scene where Violet starts having that conversation, and all the sisters are just like, \u201cNo! We\u2019ll do it!\u201d But it\u2019s nice to know this problem isn\u2019t unique to Francesca; it\u2019s a story that many women of the ton have experienced. It\u2019s just nice that we get to go behind the scenes and actually get to see that.<\/p>\n

VV: Over the years, have you guys developed any on-set games or antics?<\/p>\n

HD: The clapping game<\/a>. They started that in season one, I think.<\/p>\n

LN: Yeah, I can\u2019t even remember when it began, but we have this hand-clapping game<\/a> that gets pretty serious with the competition to see who can get to the highest number. What is really fun about it is, whether you\u2019re playing it or not, when you can hear that they\u2019re getting to a certain number, and everyone\u2019s like, \u201cThey\u2019re getting close to 10!\u201d Yeah, it\u2019s like a real event for us [laughs]. Hannah\u2019s become very good at it. I\u2019m not so good at it and was just like, \u201cI cannot do that.\u201d And then, I felt really left out because everyone was doing it.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s fine. I\u2019m not competitive.<\/p>\n

HD: I\u2019m not even sure how I came to be that good at that.<\/p>\n

LN: We need another pall-mall scene, and we\u2019ll see how Hannah fares on the pitch!<\/p>\n

HD: I\u2019ll find it so hard to act like Francesca in that scene because I\u2019ll be taking it very seriously and will be fuming if I have to pretend I\u2019m losing.<\/p>\n

VV: It sounds like you need to up the antics for next season.<\/p>\n

HD: I think we need to start playing The Traitors<\/a> on set. The hair and makeup girls did a game of Traitors, and it looked quite fun.<\/p>\n

LN: Ooh, yeah.<\/p>\n

VV: Lastly, what can you both give us to look forward to for part two?<\/p>\n

HD: So much!<\/p>\n

LN: I think it\u2019s one of the most jam-packed parts of any season.<\/p>\n

HD: It\u2019s wild how much there is that still has to happen. A lot of my favorite scenes are in part two, actually.<\/p>\n

LN: If you want to be fully immersed in the whole Bridgerton world with all of the characters and go on a real roller-coaster ride, part two is going to do that for you.<\/p>\n

Valentina Valentini is an entertainment, travel, and food writer and is also a senior contributor to Shondaland. Elsewhere, she has written for Vanity Fair, Vulture, Variety, Thrillist, Heated, and The Washington Post. Her personal essays can be read in the Los Angeles Times and Longreads, and her tangents and general complaints can be seen on Twitter at @ByValentinaV<\/a>.<\/p>\n