She recalled: I had a comment from someone saying, Why have they put these people in this drama? He just really didn t believe that Black people would have existed in England at that time. There s been erasure of their presence. But their existence in these stories, and in history, has been very, very much a real thing.
Drysdale, who has previously starred in the likes of
Benidorm and It wasn t the gentleman s fault, she added. I tried to explain to him that I played a character in
Vanity Fair called Rhoda Swartz. It s a novel that was written in the 1800s. My character s one of the richest characters in the book.
While everyone on screen in
Bridgerton is desperate to know who Lady Whistledown might be, actress Kathryn Drysdale had a different mystery to solve upon joining the show. Namely, how do you flesh out a character who is barely mentioned in the source material? She s referred to once in one of the books, Kathryn tells us. There s a Madame Genevieve Delacroix who is a dressmaker, and that s literally it. It s just a sentence.
Thankfully, you wouldn t know that from watching Netflix s adaptation. Despite a tangible lack of backstory in the novels, Kathryn was able to flesh Genevieve out thanks, of course, to the script, but also by reading a book called
She spoke to Anita Rani on her first day presenting Woman s Hour
15 January 2021 • 4:09pm
Kathryn Drysdale, middle, said period dramas are her favourite, but there are few opportunities for non-white actors
Credit: LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX
A mixed-race Bridgerton actress said she feared Vanity Fair was her only chance of playing a period role, as there are few opportunities for non-white stars in that genre.
Kathryn Drysdale spoke to Anita Rani, the new Woman s Hour host, on her first show presenting the programme.
The actress, who found success opposite Reese Witherspoon in the 2004 adaptation of Vanity Fair, now plays Genevive Delacroix, a dressmaker, on Netflix hit Bridgerton.