Netflix star India Amarteifio has shared her hope to do Bridgerton spin-off, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, “justice”.
The six-part prequel centres on young Queen Charlotte’s (Amarteifo) rise to prominence in the early years of her marriage to King George III and how their relationship shaped the Ton as viewers know it.
The spin-off will also tell the stories of young Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury, and will feature some of the current cast, Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury), and Ruth Gemmell (Lady Violet Bridgerton), in flash-forwards.
The current series has catapulted the likes of Rege-Jean Page, Nicola Coughlan, Jonathan Bailey, Phoebe Dynevor and Simone Ashley into stardom since its release in 2020.
However, Amarteifio insisted that she has “no expectation” about receiving the same stratospheric success and is instead focusing on the fan reaction to it.
Speaking to The Standard, she shared: “I know how loved and cherished the show is and I just wanted to do it as much justice as possible.
“There are fans who are die-hard for the show, and they care so much that it’s the most amazing thing to witness.
“I’m going in with no expectations so whatever comes with it, the positive aspects of it that come with it, is a bonus,” the Kingston-Upon-Thames native continued.
“I’ve done my work; I can sleep easy and I’m happy with it so that’s all I can do with it at this point.”
Like most, the Military Wives star watched the original series back in December 2020 when it became the most-viewed English-language series on Netflix, and instantly became a fan.
However, she said the magnitude of the highly anticipated spin-off project only hit when she walked on set which was both “terrifying” and “exciting”.
“I knew it was a big deal and then when I stepped onto set it finally hit,” she said. “A lot of my auditions were over Zoom and everyone was in LA so it’s not until I had the costume on that it hit, ‘Oh my God, I’m actually taking on this role’.
“Terrifying but really, really exciting.”
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is written, and executive produced by TV screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, who is not only responsible for Bridgerton but also Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and Inventing Anna.
Naturally with any Shondaland projects there is an expectation that they’ll be a hit given her stellar track record, so did Amarteifio feel the pressure while filming? Kind of.
“I tried not to think of [the pressure] too much because then it becomes overwhelming,” she shared. “So, I just saw it as a job but then and now I had the reminder that, ‘OK this is something that’s a bit bigger’.
“But Shonda Rhimes is great, what a team to be a part of, something that is challenging new ways of introducing people into genres that weren’t there before.”
