Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1: Why Penelope and Lady Danbury's friendship is missing

Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 brings to life many beloved moments from Julia Quinn’s book, ‘Romancing Mister Bridgerton.’ Fans have enjoyed seeing Penelope (played by Nicola Coughlan) read Colin’s (Luke Newton) journals, care for his injured hand, and witness his memorable proposal, “For God’s sake, Penelope Featherington, are you going to marry me or not?” However, one significant relationship from the book is notably absent: Penelope’s friendship with Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh).


In the book, Lady Danbury encourages Penelope to find her place in society and sees her potential. This important mentorship has not been shown in the series. Instead, the show focuses on Colin’s friendship helping Penelope gain confidence. Meanwhile, Lady Danbury is more involved with Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) and her daughter Francesca (Hannah Dodd).

Jess Brownell, the showrunner for Bridgerton Season 3, explained the decision to Decider. Brownell said, “We felt like we’ve watched two seasons of Lady Danbury being heavily involved in molding or shaping the main couple and we wanted to give her a storyline that was more about her. And not just about her being an accessory on the sidelines to someone else’s story. We wanted to put her more front and center.”

Brownell also mentioned that the show wanted to build on the backstory between Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton, which was established in the prequel series "Queen Charlotte." Bringing in Marcus Anderson’s character helps connect Violet’s storyline about her romantic desires after being a widow for so long with Lady Danbury’s history.


There is hope that Penelope and Lady Danbury’s friendship might develop in Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2. For now, Lady Danbury is focusing on her own family and her connection with Violet. Fans will have to wait to see how these relationships evolve.

Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 is set to premiere on Netflix on June 13.