From Regency romance.. to horror of war
Bridgerton star tells of her quest to help others
AS BRIDGERTON’S Lady Danbury, she is one of the most powerful and privileged women in London.
But in real life, actress Adjoa Andoh is determined to use her fame to help those less fortunate.
She recently visited Poland with the International Rescue Committee to meet Ukrainian women displaced by the war with Russia – and Adjoa, who is an ambassador for the IRC, was left in tears by their devastating stories.
She said: “We sat and cried together. The sort of mad schizophrenia of doing the Bridgerton junket in Warsaw and everybody being zhuzhed up and fabulous to then, a day later, sitting with women who have run away with a suitcase and a bag of nappies is a stark contrast.
“I will be going away thinking about them and praying for them.”
In a touching moment, gran Adjoa, 61, was presented with a T- shirt made by the refugee
children with all their handprints on it.
She said: “It could be my little grandson and those mothers could be my daughters – and it could have been me, if I had the accident of being born somewhere different.”
Adjoa is not the only Bridgerton star to use their status to help others. Nicola Coughlan, who plays Pe n e l o p e Featherington in the show, has raised almost £1.5million for Gaza’s aid efforts in the past seven months.
Speaking ahead of World Refugee Day on Thursday, Adjoa said: “Nicola has been amazing. I think many members of the cast are conscious of the great privileges we enjoy.”
Regency romance Bridgerton was first screened in 2020.
And this week, fans of Shonda Rhimes’ opulent drama tuned in to find out the latest twist in the love story between Penelope and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).
Adjoa is as invested in their relationship as the rest of us. She said: “A lot of the audience will be rooting for them because they’ve invested in them for so long, but also because love goes where love goes – and we all need a bit of that right now.”