As the third season of hit Netflix drama series “Bridgerton” hit our screens, Hannah Dodd understandably still had some nerves. “I’m still a little bit on edge – I won’t feel confident talking about it until it’s all out,” she admitted at the “Bridgerton” Junket where we met her. In May 2023, Netflix announced that Dodd would be joining the cast as the Bridgerton family’s sixth-oldest sibling, Francesca Bridgerton, a character that was previously played by Ruby Stokes in seasons one and two.

For Dodd, joining the cast has been a whirlwind. “It’s been really exciting,” she says beaming. “It’s such a privilege to join the show at this point, because they’ve [the cast] done such an incredible job of making it what it is. I’ve got nothing but respect for all of these lovely people. Joining the show has been the biggest gift of my life ever.”

Naturally, there was a lot of curiosity about the new actress joining The Ton. Dodd grew up in Colchester, Essex and started acting professionally straight after graduating from the London Studio Centre. You might recognise the rising British star from other Netflix series like “Anatomy Of A Scandal,” where she played the younger version of series lead Sienna Miller, or “Enola Holmes 2”.

We’ve been introduced to Francesca Bridgerton before in a limited capacity, but this season we get to peel back the layers and see what really makes her tick. Dodd says: “The foundations of Francesca came from Ruby and she did a beautiful job, but now we get to get to know her a little bit more.” As a young woman who is now looking for a suitor, and after a diamond of the season debut from her sister Daphne, will she be pressured by her family’s reputation?

Dodd reveals: “I think Francesca’s on a journey. She’s on that journey of working out exactly what it is she wants — is she going to follow her family’s wishes? I think there’s an element of people-pleasing going on. She she has a lot of insecurities but there is this kind of quiet confidence about her.” Dodd believes that Francesca’s outlook on life is slightly different from her other siblings. “It’s not confidence necessarily but she doesn’t need outward validation — she doesn’t chase that in the same way that maybe some of her siblings have needed to.”

During this season, Francesca and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) have a scene-stealing moment standing at the wall of a ball — and there is an element of female camaraderie and support shared between them. As we know, Francesca is set to make her societal debut in season three and Penelope has been on the market for a number of years now. “I love that scene. I feel like Penelope and Francesca do share some similarities but also there are a lot of privileges that Francesca has. In that moment, Pen’s not allowing her to follow in her footsteps of being a wallflower. She’s kind of like, ‘No, off you go, you can do this’ which is so kind. I think that was Francesca’s safety net and if she had it her way, that would be how it would continue — standing with Pen in the corner.”

The main takeaway from Francesca Bridgerton is that she is definitely an independent young woman and has a number of hobbies. Dodd says: “She has things that make her happy that she can do on her own like going for a walk, reading a book or playing piano. So, she does work a little bit differently from her siblings. As the audience get to know the character, she’s also getting to know herself too.”

Fun fact: Dodd is actually playing the piano in the show. As her cast members tease her about knowing Mozart, she laughs. “I do not know Mozart,” the actress admits. “Look, I tried okay! It was just another little added thing to deal with other than joining THE cast of “Bridgerton” like yeah, ‘Do you want some sheet music too?'”

Bridgerton Season Three is available on Netflix now.

Aaliyah Harry (she/her) is the associate editor at PS UK. She writes extensively across lifestyle, culture and beauty. Aaliyah also has a deep passion for telling stories and giving voice to the voiceless. Previously, she has contributed to Refinery29, Grazia UK and The Voice Newspaper.

In 2022, 23-year-old Tasha Ghouri entered the Love Island villa as the first ever deaf contestant. Looking back, two years after leaving the hit dating show, she still can’t believe the journey she’s had. “It’s crazy looking back. I was so young and I was just starting out and learning about relationships — and now I’ve got a dog and a house with Andrew [Le Page, who she met on the show],”she tells PS UK on a Zoom call. Over night, Ghouri became a household name, amassing millions of followers on social media, magazine spreads and brand deals.

But what’s the hardest thing about instant fame? “It was definitely hard adjusting to this new life,” she reveals to PS UK. “It was a challenging shift and you lose people. I lost friends and family due to instant fame because it was a new reality for me,” she admits. Ghouri quickly learnt that she couldn’t replicate the life she was living before appearing on the hit dating show. “Things had to change; I couldn’t go clubbing and get absolutely drunk off my head anymore!”

During her time on Love Island we watched the reality star struggle with confidence and the public’s perception of her. But two years later, she says she’s a very different person. “Tasha today is someone who’s a lot stronger,” she says. “I’ve definitely grown from my experience on Love Island. I always say that Love Island was definitely about self growth, I had a massive personal growth journey in the villa.” Ghouri explains that you have to have a thick skin to survive in this industry: “I feel like Tasha today doesn’t care about what people think and has more confidence in herself. In this industry, you do have to be strong and ignore the negativity. I feel like I’ve got so much better at focusing on the positives and not worrying so much about other people’s opinions.”

In the villa, Tasha’s style captured the attention of the country and she says her current style inspiration is none other than Hailey Bieber: “She’s got such great street style and red carpet looks – that girl knows how to change it up.” Ghouri believes that jewellery is a great way to elevate any look or make a statement and in a special collaboration with Hot Diamonds, she has created a personalised name necklace(£99).”I’ve always worn a necklace with initials. When it came to collaborating with Hot Diamonds, I was instantly drawn to them. I find personalised necklaces so meaningful, my favourite one is my ‘T&A’ initial one because it represents Andrew and I.” Within the collection you can choose from different fonts, words and even have a mix of gold and silver finishing.

Speaking of jewellery, could an engagement be on the cards for Tasha and boyfriend Andrew? She tells PS UK: “We definitely still get lot of questions about when we’re going to get engaged. I mean, it’s more up to Andrew than it is to me. We’ve both said when it happens, it happens but we’re not in any rush to get married anytime soon.” But two years after meeting on the show, Ghouri says they are stronger than ever. “We’re definitely in it for the long haul,” she reveals. We’re both very happy. I can’t believe it’s been two years since we met but I couldn’t love him anymore, he’s amazing.”

Even though she’s no longer an Islander, she still watches Love Island and is enjoying it. “Oh, I’m rooting for, Ayo and Mimii,” she says without hesitation. “I love them and I want them to get back together. I feel like they have that connection. I know Ayo’s getting to know Uma, but I feel like deep down he likes Mimii and I think they’re gonna come back together and have that epic love story.”

However, she has some suggestions for future seasons. Ghouri has always been a vocal advocate for normalising disabilities by embracing them as your superpower — something very personal to Tasha, as she was born deaf and is a proud wearer of a cochlear implant. “I would love to see more than one disabled Islander in future,” she says of the show’s current lineup. “I always feel like there’s always that one person that has a disability so it’s ticked off. But why can’t we have two or three islanders with a disability in there? Or a bombshell? I’d also love to see someone with a prosthetic leg and show the beauty of that.”

The reality star explains that the key is in representation so it’s normalised. “It’s important to show that you can find love even though if you’ve got a disability. I think a lot of TV shows just tick a box but actually, that’s not really being inclusive. You have to continue the momentum and keep pushing forward.”

Recently, the reality star has been campaigning on daytime TV about normalising deaf accents, and it’s something incredibly important for her to highlight. “To this day, I get comments about my voice and the way I speak on my social media videos,” she reveals. “I think for me, it’s actually about using my platform to educate those people and show actually, the reason why my voice sounds like this is because of my cochlear implant and without it my voice goes more monotone.” In true Tasha style, she chooses to rise above the hate: ” I could be negative back but that’s not the person I am. I’d rather use my platform to be be positive, I choose to kill them with kindness and show the beauty of deaf accents.”

And as the general election draws near, Ghouri has thoughts. If she had the power to enforce one policy in Parliament, it would be about media accessibility for the deaf community. “All content should be captioned or have subtitles,” she says. “That’s probably the one law I would love to enforce because there is such a big lack of captions and subtitles on videos yet deafness is the third biggest disability in UK. I feel so disconnected as soon as I see a video with no subtitles and I instantly scroll past it.”

Ghouri has such a mix of passions but what does the future hold — could we see her on Strictly Come Dancing any time soon? “Oh babe, I’m manifesting for any kind of TV show with dancing like Dancing On Ice or Strictly.” But she also has hopes of one day having her own fashion line. She says: “I love fashion and I’d love to one day have my own kind of business and see people wearing clothes that I create. That’s a big aspiration of mine.” Watch this space…

Aaliyah Harry (she/her) is the associate editor at PS UK. She writes extensively across lifestyle, culture and beauty. Aaliyah also has a deep passion for telling stories and giving voice to the voiceless. Previously, she has contributed to Refinery29, Grazia UK and The Voice Newspaper.

So, the next James Bond has reportedly been chosen. Sources have told The Sun Marvel actor and “Bullet Train” star, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is set to be Daniel Craig’s successor. Eon Productions, who make the classic spy thriller are reportedly set to start filming soon and sources claim that the job is Taylor-Johnson’s, should he wish to take it. “Bond is Aaron’s job, should he wish to accept it,” sources told The Sun. “The formal offer is on the table and they are waiting to hear back. As far as Eon is concerned, Aaron is going to sign his contract in the coming days and they can start preparing for the big announcement.”

While for many, James Bond might be the peak when it comes to swoon-worthy roles, for many of us Taylor-Johnson already has a special place in our hearts. Your teenage heart and dreams specifically. Because any Brit who grew up in the noughties will forver mainly know Taylor-Johnson as Robbie Jennings in “Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging”, where he stole the hearts of thousands. Despite the 33-year-old’s impressive list of acting roles, including starring in “Kick-Ass” and Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, for us, it was his 2008 character that earned him heart-throb status.

“Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging”, which also starred Georgia Groome (who now has a child with Harry Potter star Rupert Grint), Eleanor Tomlinson from “Poldark”, and British comedian Alan Davies, was a real coming-of-age film. As such, Taylor-Johnson’s face was plastered on bedroom walls and inside school lockers up and down the nation as he played the main love interest. There was a lot of fanfare around the film, and its devotees were disappointed that a sequel was never released, especially considering it was based on Louise Rennison’s series of young-adult novels.

Nonetheless, the precious film became a sleepover staple. In unison, we drooled over Taylor-Johnson, his London accent, his bass-playing abilities, and his sweepy fringe. We laughed, cried, and rejoiced when Robbie chose relatable and hilarious Georgia over popular but nasty Lindsay. “Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging” is iconic and perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the mid-2000s.

Taylor-Johnson mastered the teenage rom-com in this role, then he went on to win a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role in “Nocturnal Animals” in 2017. He also starred in “Anna Karenina”, “Godzilla”, “A Million Little Pieces”, and “The King’s Man”. The Buckinghamshire-born star has achieved a lot since his teenage rom-com days. He married director Sam Taylor-Johnson, whom he met on the set of “Nowhere Boy” when he was 18, in 2012. The couple now have two daughters and two stepdaughters from Taylor-Johnson’s previous marriage.

Desperate to catch a glimpse of a grown-up Robbie? Well, Taylor-Johnson has yet to officially accept the role as 007, but it’s reported that filming for the next instalment of the spy thriller is set to start later this year, so we could be seeing him on our screens very soon. And next up, he’ll be seen alongside Ryan Gosling in Fall Guy.

Until then, thank you for being such a huge part of our teenage years Aaron. We can’t wait to see what you do next. Even if it’s likely not, sadly, going to be a Angus follow-up.

Lauren Gordon is the editorial coordinator at POPSUGAR UK, where she creates lifestyle and identity content. Lauren has a degree in journalism from University of the Arts London and previously worked as a showbiz and TV reporter at The Mirror US. Lauren specialises in pop culture, hair and beauty, focusing on trends, sharing in-depth tutorials, and highlighting hidden gems in the beauty industry.