Bridgerton puts female romance between Francesca and Michaela at heart of season five

We've barely recovered from season four of Bridgerton, but now details of series five have been announced - with a new romance to set hearts aflutter.

Every season focuses on one central romance featuring a member of the Bridgerton family - and it's the turn of the reserved and somewhat mysterious Francesca, played by Hannah Dodd.

She will have a love story with Lord Kilmartin's cousin Michaela, played by Masali Baduza, and a teaser trailer released on Tuesday showed the pair touching hands.

While same-sex romance has featured in Netflix's hit period drama previously, this will mark the first time it's been part of the central storyline.

Dodd said: "[Those love stories] have traditionally been excluded from things like period dramas - and queer people did exist, have always existed, and will always exist. So they deserve a love story just like everybody else."

Previously chosen as the Queen's "diamond" - Her Majesty's favourite debutante - in series three, Francesca then married Lord Kilmartin (Victor Alli), who died in the latest season.

"Two years after losing her beloved husband John, Fran decides to re-enter the marriage mart for practical reasons," a Netflix release revealed.

"But when John's cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza) returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Fran's complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions."

It went to describe Dodd's character as "reserved and contained".

"Francesca has long felt out of place in the world. As Michaela stirs up new feelings inside her, Fran will make discoveries about herself that could change everything," it said.

The show is based on Julia Quinn's romance novels about the love lives of the eight siblings Bridgerton family.

Michaela is a gender-swapped version of Francesca's romantic interest in the books, who is called Michael.

Quinn said last year that while she didn't write Francesca as a neurodivergent character, she was thrilled some autistic fans of the show could relate to the Bridgerton sister, who often needs a quiet space and can struggle with societal conventions.

Dodd told the BBC earlier this year: "The writers said it was something they did discuss in the writers' room.

"It wasn't something that me or Victor were aware of, it must have just been on the page and that's kind of how it came out in our performances.

"But to acknowledge feeling slightly different to your siblings and how society is going about and if that's not fitting quite right with you... it's really important that everybody sees themselves represented on that screen so if we've included another group of people, then that's amazing."

Production has now begun on the next eight-episode series.