All the Clues You Missed About [Spoiler] Being Lady Whistledown on 'Bridgerton'
Dearest reader, the time has come to place our bets on the true identity of Bridgerton’s most sought after gossip columnist, Lady Whistledown.
If you’ve started the Netflix show you’re probably a.) speaking in an English accent around the house and b.) deep in the throes of guessing who Lady Whistledown is. She seems to be everywhere and know everything, which means she has to be well connected, rich, and very, very sneaky.
As the episodes continue, you might find yourself taking after Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) and launching your own investigation into Lady Whistledown. But whether or not you had it all figured out by the final moments of season one, you got your answer. And it’s definitely not what many of us expected!
If you haven’t finished season one of Bridgerton, we implore you to turn your carriage around and return when you’re ready. Much like Lady Whistledown, we’re about to share all the good gossip, and don’t want to ruin any surprises. You’ve been warned!!!
Tell me! Who is Lady Whistledown?
Lady Whistledown is none other than Eloise’s best friend, Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). She's the youngest Featherington daughter—a hopeless romantic with a big heart. This came as a huge shock for a few reasons: One, she’s so young to be putting together such an ornate operation.
For another, she’s such a sweet companion to Eloise—it’s hard to imagine her capable of such deception! Finally, one of the biggest secrets revealed in Lady Whistledown’s pamphlet had to do with Marina (Ruby Barker) and her own family. Which is pretty cutthroat!
Wow, I never saw this coming. Were there clues?
Despite all the above, there were plenty of clues hiding in plain sight. Penelope’s invited to all of the high society events, but is still a wallflower for the most part. That makes her the perfect person to observe all the drama, without calling attention to herself.
Next, she was one of the few who knew about Marina’s pregnancy, and she had a motive for exposing her. Penelope has a huge crush on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and didn’t want him marrying Marina, as she was misleading him.
Finally, Lady Whistledown didn’t have any news to report from the queen’s luncheon. Considering the Featheringtons were asked to leave, it makes sense that Penelope wouldn’t have had any details to share from the event.
It was all right there! 🤦🏻♀️
Are we sure it’s her?
Though shows take liberties from books all the time, Penelope as Lady Whistledown does match what happened in the series written by Julia Quinn. (Though that wasn’t revealed until the fourth novel, Romancing Mister Bridgerton.) So why did Netflix unveil the biggest Bridgerton mystery so early?
“For me, it felt like it was time,” said creator Chris Van Dusen in an interview with Decider. “We knew that there was a portion of the audience that had read the books and had their thoughts and theories about who Lady Whistledown was. Then, there was an entirely new group of people that are not as familiar with the books, and have no idea where the story of Lady Whistledown went. It was about keeping the mystery alive and fun for fans of the books, but also, never being ahead of it. Never telegraphing where we’re going.”
But when will Penelope tell the rest of the town (and Eloise) about her secret?
“Perhaps I will come forward one day,” Julie Andrews, who voices Lady Whistledown, said coyly in the show. “Though you must know, dear reader, that decision shall be left entirely up to me.”
😱😱😱
