Not even Lady Whistledown has this scoop: It's time to welcome a new and mysterious addition to the Bridgerton world.
Hannah New, who starred a few years ago on the Starz series Black Sails, has joined the cast of the upcoming third season of Netflix's Regency period drama. On Oct. 14, her rep confirmed to E! News that the British actress will play Lady Tilley Arnold on Bridgerton.
According to Deadline, which first reported the news, the character is a young widow who "enjoys the privileges and power that come with being at the helm of her former husband's estate, living life on her own terms with financial independence and sexual freedom."
In addition to playing Eleanor Guthrie on Black Sails between 2014 and 2017, New also portrayed Queen Leila, Princess Aurora's mother, alongside Angelina Jolie in the Disney movie Maleficent and also starred with Donald Sutherland, Hilary Swank and Brendan Fraser on the FX series Trust.
Bridgerton season three focuses on Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), a.k.a. narrator and gossip writer Lady Whistledown, and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and is inspired by the events in Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the fourth novel in Julia Quinn's series on which the TV show is based. New's character does not appear in the books.
It was previously announced that the third season of Bridgerton will star three actors who will play new characters—Daniel Francis, Sam Philips and James Phoon, while Hannah Dodd is taking over the role of Colin's sister Francesca Bridgerton—replacing Ruby Stokes, who left Bridgerton to star in another series, Lockwood & Co.
When will Bridgerton season three premiere? While Netflix has not announced a date, the series is currently in production, which means new episodes are likely to be released sometime in 2023.
Find out more information about the third season of Bridgerton below: