The first part of Bridgerton’s fourth season just landed on Netflix and fans have realised that one of its stars was an integral part of one of CBBC’s biggest franchises in the 2000s
19:05, 01 Feb 2026Updated 19:08, 01 Feb 2026
Ruth Gemmell stars as Lady Violet in Bridgerton(Image: LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX)
Bridgerton has been a hit with viewers ever since it landed on Netflix on Christmas Day in 2020, and the first part of the fourth season just landed on the streaming service. The period drama series, which is based on the books by Julia Quinn, features a stellar cast made up of Adjoa Andoh, Jonathan Bailey and Lorraine Ashbourne, amongst a host of others.
The programme made a star out of Phoebe Dynevor, the daughter of Coronation Street legend Sally Dynevor, and Nicola Coughlan also found global fame when she was cast in the show after enjoying her initial success with the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls.
One character to have also appeared throughout all of Bridgerton so far, as well as the spin-off Queen Charlotte, is Lady Violet, the widow of Edmund Bridgerton and mother to eight children within the aristocratic family.
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Ruth played Tracy Beaker’s mum Carly in the 2004 film Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me (Image: BBC)
The matriarch is played by actress Ruth Gemmell, who started her television career in the 1990s and made appearances in dramas like The Bill, Kay Mellor’s Band of Gold and Silent Witness. She’s also enjoyed stints on EastEnders, on which she played the biological mother of Whitney Dean, and Holby City throughout the years, and appeared in a host of Shakespeare plays.
But it was in 2004 that Ruth landed what is perhaps her most recognisable role to fans who grew up watching CBBC. By that time, the children’s network had already aired three series of The Story of Tracy Beaker, an adaptation of the book series by Dame Jacqueline Wilson that was all set in a care home.
Much of the series was built on the feisty title character, played by Dani Harmer, longing for her mother to come and collect her from the care home, often fantasising that she was a Hollywood star who lived a life of luxury, when, in fact, that couldn’t have been any further from the truth.
When the series was adapted into a made-for-television film titled Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me, Ruth was cast as Tracy’s mother, Carly, with her sudden arrival completely complicating things within the story because Tracy was already in an on/off fostering arrangement with Cam Lawson (Lisa Coleman).
Ruth also starred in Home Fires, and has been a regular on British TV for decades (Image: 2013 All Rights Reserved)
Carly did not appear in the main series of Tracy Beaker, nor its spin-off Tracy Beaker Returns, but did appear in the miniseries My Mum Tracy Beaker, which aired in 2021. Taking to TikTok, one fan posted a clip of Ruth as Lady Violet and alongside a clip of her as Carly in the Tracy Beaker film, and wrote alongside it: “Sometimes I can’t fathom it’s the same actress, they are so different!”
The post quickly gained traction, with one person writing in the comments section: “No way how did I not clock this!” Others jokingly related Ruth’s part in Bridgerton to the plot of Tracy Beaker as they noted that the care home kid had been right all along about her mother being an actress.
One said: “Can’t believe this never occurred to me, but imagine Tracy watching her mum on TV playing a mother to other kids while she’s sitting in the dumping ground!” Another said: “I mean, Tracy’s right now… she is famous!” and a third wrote: “Literally, I kept saying how is she such a loving mum after she ditched Tracy!”
Some of Ruth’s other credits include appearances in Casualty, Midsomer Murders and Inspector George Gently. She also had a recurring role in Penny Dreadful, and, from 2015 until 2016, starred in Home Fires.
In the latest teaser for Bridgerton, Sophie appears determined to depart Bridgerton House, attempting to convince Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) that her choice isn’t influenced by “anyone” in the residence.
Yet Violet clearly senses there’s something deeper to Sophie’s story and is intent on uncovering the truth – but will she manage before the maid departs?
Bridgerton season 4, part 2 will be released on Netflix on February 26
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