In a television landscape that can be overly centred on teenage love stories, Bridgerton has quietly staged a rebellion. One led not by debutantes, but by older women who command rooms, shape destinies, and refuse to fade politely into the background.
Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte, played by Adjoa Andoh and Golda Rosheuvel, are not ornamental figures orbiting younger protagonists. Instead, they are power brokers. Strategists. Women with histories, hungers, rivalries and deep, enduring friendships. And in a global hit watched by millions, that matters.
“What I love about both of your characters is that they’re not side players,” I tell them when we speak over a video call to the UK. “They are very much involved in the narrative. They steer the chessboard of the ton.”
It’s something Adjoa agrees is long overdue.
“Well, I mean, you know, women are over 50 per cent of the world, and they come in all ages and stages,” she says. “So I think it’s great to see stories that reflect all the ages and stages of our lives.”
Crucially, these aren’t softened or sidelined portrayals of older women. Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte are allowed complexity and contradiction.
“They have agency, and they have appetite, and they have energy, and they have rage and joy and challenges. They have complicated lives and complicated backstories,” Adjoa continues. “And they’re juggling all those things while also keeping their eye on what’s directly in front of them at the moment and what they want going forward.”
That sense of appetite, for life, power, influence, is something Bridgerton leans into rather than shies away from. For Golda, the significance is both personal and political.
“With Bridgerton, it’s… It’s A rarity that women are driving the story,” she says. “But it’s a great platform to change that in the wider storytelling world.”
“We as older statesmen, you know, in our 50s and plus, can be the centre of attention, can drive the storylines,” she adds. “You know, it doesn’t diminish anything; if anything, it empowers.”
Adjoa jumps in quickly: “I think it enriches it.”
“Yeah, exactly,” Golda agrees.
“And they’re fabulous,” Adjoa adds, laughing.
They are fabulous… and formidable. Particularly Queen Charlotte, who enters scenes with a delicious unpredictability that keeps both the ton and the audience on edge. As, one thing the Queen detests, it bordem.
“It’s very, very true. Got to keep busy. Got to keep the finger on the pulse,” Golda says with a wry smile.
That mercurial energy takes on new stakes in the latest season, with the Queen now aware of Lady Whistledown’s true identity. For Golda’s Queen Charlotte, it’s less about shock and more about opportunity.
“I think the Queen has kind of, I think she feels as though she’s got a new best friend,” she says. “Things are all going to be wonderful. And she’s going to be the kind of, she’s got her ear to the ground. Do you know what I mean? She’s got that person who is going to give her all the gossip that she needs and feeds her wonderful delights.”
For Lady Danbury, managing the Queen has always required finesse, and that hasn’t changed. In this season, like the previous three others, Lady Danbury manoeuvres the Queen deftly behind the scenes, often advising others on how best to approach her and make regal requests.
“The Queen is mercurial. She’s never not been mercurial,” Adjoa says. “So, I mean, now that she’s discovered the true identity of Whistledown, it’s just another thing to put on the table. So it will just be deft in the moment, quick-witted strategy at all times.”
Yet as compelling as their individual power is, it’s the relationship that is the most interesting. In a medium that so often pits women against each other, Bridgerton presents a friendship that survives disagreement, rivalry and truth-telling.
“I think quite often in stories, they pit women against each other,” Adjoa says. “And that’s not my experience of life.”
Instead, Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte argue, spar and clash; all without the friendship being threatened.
“They will have completely different opinions from time to time and will butt up against each other, but the friendship remains,” Adjoa explains. “Because they’re smart, intelligent women, so they’re not always going to think alike, and they will joust a bit. But the friendship and the love remain. And I think that’s so true of female friendships, actually.”
Golda sees that honesty as central to their bond.
“There is no fear to be honest with each other,” she says. “The door is always open. The space is open for discussion. And I think women delight in that. They search for those kinds of deep, meaningful discussions with their friends. I’ve got some wonderful friends that I can be myself with, and it doesn’t matter. We can fall out, we can disagree as Adjoa says, but love and friendship are at the core and trust and support are at the core of that relationship.”
And their relationship will go through some tests this season.
“They’ve travelled this journey together with friendship and love and support and trust and honesty,” she adds. “And I think in this next season, we see that really play out in its most vulnerable form.”
For audiences, particularly women who’ve been told their most interesting stories are behind them in their youth, that visibility is powerful. As life doesn’t narrow with age; it expands. Those friendships deepen. That agency doesn’t evaporate once you reach a mature age.
In Bridgerton, romance may be the headline act. But it’s the mature women — scheming, laughing, grieving, loving and holding power — who prove that some of the most compelling stories begin well after the debutantes’ ball.
Stream Bridgerton season 4 part one from 29 January 2026 on Netflix.
