Who is Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton and who does her voice?

The wait is over, Bridgerton Season 2 has landed on Netflix and as fans rush to binge watch all of the eight new episodes, many are wondering who is Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton?

The hit Netflix show might not have Regé-Jean Page aka The Duke among its cast this time round but there's some new cast members to fall in love with as the second season airs from today on the popular streaming service.

While some fans want to know where is Bridgerton filmed and details of the Bridgerton season 2 soundtrack, others who missed or forgot the closing episode of season one, are wondering who is the mysterious Lady Whistledown...

Who is Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton?

Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton is Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) after her hidden identity was finally revealed in the closing moments of season one. Ever since Bridgerton debuted on screens back in 2020, mystery surrounded who Lady Whistledown was as viewers were merely introduced to her as the anonymous writer of a social pamphlet detailing the gossip of "the ton".

The discovery of the infamous gossip writer's identity only brings further heartbreak to her story as Season 2 will focus more on Lady Whistledown's character and how she operates, printing all the papers and distributing them among the community, and how she earns an income publishing her scandal sheet.

Speaking about her alter ego as Lady Whistledown, Nicola who plays Penelope, said, "She's the most powerful woman in London. Often, we perceive gossip as a very modern invention — but it really isn't. When women had no agency in their lives, this was all they were deemed to be good for. So why be ashamed to participate in it?"

"One could argue that the negative perception of gossip is a misogynistic feature to prevent women from communicating and sharing knowledge."

Who does Lady Whistledown's voice?

Lady Whistledown's voice is done by Julie Andrews in order to maintain the character's anonymity until it was revealed at the end of Season 1. Lady Whistledown is the fearless narrator of Bridgerton, ever since episode one of season one, viewers are hooked on knowing who she really is.

Spreading the gossip via her newsletter, Lady Whistledown doesn't hold back with her opinions and take on the ins and outs of the other characters - much to the surprise of the other characters who equally are kept in the dark about her identity.

Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, is the constant talk of Bridgerton's high society in Regency Era London and the column also functions as the narration for the show and very early on it was implied that Lady Whistledown belongs to the inner circle of the Bridgerton and Featheringtons but using Julie Andrews as the voiceover leads the viewer to believe that the writer is an older and especially dignified woman - with some considering it being Lady Danbury.

And while fans are fooled by her voice, the Bridgerton cast of characters are fooled by her writing.

Did the cast of Bridgerton know who Lady Whistledown was?

The cast of Bridgerton didn't know who Lady Whistledown was during filming. As the youngest Featherington daughter, Penelope is the youngest and shares a sweet friendship with Eloise who was trying very hard to discover the true identity of Lady Whistledown. They bond over their obsession and make a pact to help each other uncover the mysterious identity of the author. Eloise gathers her clues and reports back to the queen. after eliminating the possibilities one by one, Eloise finally narrows down her identity.

While Eloise is invested in spotting the clues, the other cast members appear to not be as interested in finding out who Lady Whistledown really is. Eloise is first to accuse Lady Danbury of being the author, but her guess is laughed off, prompting Eloise to dig further. Next, Eloise thinks it might be a maid or cook in her own household or possibly the Featheringtons. But she is soon pointed in the direction of Madame Delacroix when it's pointed out that anyone in the working class would be too busy for such hobbies. But she is wrong again.

And its only a matter of time before more of her identity is revealed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs9r1UbmFAI&t=2s

What happens to Lady Whistledown in the books?

In the books Lady Whistledown's identity is kept secret until the fourth novel during Romancing Mr. Bridgerton in which the plot revolves around Colin Bridgerton and his love interest, Penelope Featherington who is revealed in the book to be Lady Whistledown. Her alter ego becomes a point of conflict in their relationship. Lady Whistledown has been a nuisance for Colin after she constantly published private details of his life before Romancing Mr Bridgerton, her identity has been a well-kept secret.

But producers of the Netflix show decided to reveal Lady Whistledown much earlier at the end of Season 1. Watch this space to see whether she will come clean with her identity in Season 3.

Bridgerton is available to stream on Netflix.