Everything to Know About Lady Whistledown's Identity Heading into 'Bridgerton' Season 4

Warning: Spoilers for Bridgerton up to season 4, part 1. Ever since Bridgerton debuted on Christmas 2020, the secret of Lady Whistledown's true identity has been among the series's best storylines. Of course, the mystery was solved for viewers relatively quickly. After the first season saw Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) and Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) collecting clues and masterminding schemes to unmask London's most notorious gossip columnist, season 1 ended with the bombshell reveal that Whistledown was none other than Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).

Her identity was confirmed as Julie Andrews, who voices Whistledown's readings of The Society Papers, narrates the final gossip column of the season while a hooded writer travels by carriage across the city. "Perhaps I will come forward one day, though, you must know, dear reader, that decision shall be left entirely up to me. Yours truly, Lady Whistledown," she says while lowering her hood to reveal Penelope, wearing a sly grin.

Though undeniably surprising, Whistledown's identity made perfect sense based on all the clues dropped throughout season 1. Then in season 2, Bridgerton followed Penelope as she adjusted the printing and distribution process for the column in response to Eloise's continued snooping. In doing so, Penelope made difficult decisions to keep her secret and protect Eloise from the queen's antagonistic efforts to root out and ruin Whistledown. Unfortunately, Pen and El's lifelong friendship came to a head when the latter finally discovered the former's secret in the season 2 finale, marking an ultimate turning point in their bond.

In season 3, Penelope faced new challenges in her writing career: balancing her illicit writings as Whistledown with her attempts to renew her efforts in the marriage mart and find a husband. Of course, her eyes were set on bestie Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), who finally started to fall for her—but her secret identity threatened their relationship. As fans well know, Colin despises everything to do with Whistledown, since his family is a constant subject of the Ton's gossip mill. However, after their marriage, Penelope comes clean to the entire Ton about her double life, promising to keep her gossip rag accountable moving forward.

With Bridgerton season 4, part 1 arriving on Netflix in January 2026, we're diving into Penelope's (now-open) tenure as Whistledown, and what could happen next, according to the Bridgerton books by Julia Quinn.

What were the clues for Whistledown's identity in 'Bridgerton' season 1?

The Bridgerton sleuths's assumptions in season 1 that Whistledown was a maid or tradesperson certainly made sense since working-class members of Georgian society weren't just regularly in the company of higher-class families but typically overlooked in those settings. The flaw here, though, is that Whistledown's reports were often published mere hours after the latest dinner party or ball had concluded, and while the Regency rumor mills moved quickly, they didn't move that quickly. Therefore, Lady Whistledown had to be someone who was actually in attendance at those events. Enter: Penelope.

While attending those events, Penelope was rarely the life of the party, due to a sense of self-consciousness imposed by her family and a preference to keep her eyes peeled for drama from the sidelines. In fact, according to Nicola Coughlan, if you go back and keep an eye out for Penelope in those social scenes, you'll often see her lurking in the background of the show's biggest moments.

"I would think, 'What's the Whistledown column? Is something happening?' And I would say to the directors, whose main focus would be on the duke and Daphne, because that's what the scene was about, 'Would you mind if I sort of planted myself and just was here just to witness this?'" Coughlan previously told Harper's Bazaar in a 2020 interview about her approach to playing the gossip girl in disguise. "I don't need to be there with binoculars or with a pen writing things down, but I do need to take all that in. I couldn't be overt, but I think it will be fun for people to watch season one back and spot Penelope, like Where's Waldo, around the ballroom."

Some of Whistledown's most scathing reports concerned Penelope's own family: She downplayed her sisters's prospects in the marriage market and, even more shockingly, revealed her cousin and friend Marina Thompson's (Ruby Barker) out-of-wedlock pregnancy. And while it might seem unthinkable that Penelope would jeopardize her own family's social standing, it makes sense, considering how they treated her. Her mother (Polly Walker) and sisters (Bessie Carter, Harriet Cain) regularly dismissed her marriage prospects, teased her for being "two stone heavier" than them, and, in general, left her feeling unimportant and unseen in her own home.

"I think the way that Penelope has grown up, she's used to keeping secrets, because she doesn't really have anyone in her family to confide in," Coughlan told Bazaar. "Her sisters are this double act, that they just get on really well. Her mom and dad don't really know she's alive. I think it's her coping mechanism, it's not necessarily a healthy thing, but I think it's interesting because she's so young, too."

How does Lady Whistledown print the 'Society Papers' in 'Bridgerton?'

After season 1's big reveal, the Bridgerton season 2 premiere wasted no time showing how Penelope pulled off the printing and distribution of Whistledown's pamphlets while keeping her identity secret. While her mother and sisters are preoccupied at a ball, Penelope sneaks away to a print shop in the unfashionable side of town, with the help of a driver who stores a disguise and extra writing materials in the carriage. Pen dresses up, pretending to be Whistledown's maid (rather than the scribe herself) while negotiating with the printer, and the Irish actress gets to bust out her real accent for a fun twist. In the disguise scenes, we see how skilled Penelope is at business; she drives a hard bargain, including getting her delivery boys a raise, and finding a new type letter when Eloise finds a clue to her identity in the pamphlets. (More on El later.)

We also learn that Penelope hides her Whistledown earnings and prior editions in the floorboards of her room. On one trip to the printers, Pen takes home 10 pounds; according to this conversion tool, 10 pounds in 1830 comes to around $1,445! The Featheringtons may have dealt with money problems in season 2, but Pen would've been fine.

Who knows Whistledown's identity by 'Bridgerton' season 4?

A secret as big as Lady Whistledown's identity couldn't stay hidden for long, and it only takes two episodes of season 2 for someone from the Ton to see Penelope while in her maid's disguise. The culprit was the modiste, Madame Delacroix (Kathryn Drysdale), who herself was a suspect for Whistledown in season 1 (perhaps exacerbated by her faking a French accent). After the run-in, Delacroix is content to forget she saw Penelope, but Pen figures out how the two women can help each other. You see, a new modiste in town has been siphoning Delacroix's clients, and Penelope uses a Whistledown issue to affirm that Delacroix is Mayfair's most stylish modiste (while getting a dig in at Cressida Cowper). In exchange for favorable reviews, Pen enlists Delacroix, who travels throughout London more freely, to deliver Whistledown drafts to the printer in her stead.

The second person to learn Whistledown's identity isn't as fortuitous. After two seasons of snooping, Eloise finally recognizes one of Penelope's sayings in a Whistledown issue, and a devastating fight ensues. Unfortunately, her discovery comes a few episodes after Penelope tarnished Eloise's reputation via a Whistledown issue. Midway through season 2, Queen Charlotte suspects that Eloise herself is Whistledown, and turns her ire on the Bridgerton girl. In a desperate bid to save her friend, Penelope exposes Eloise’s association with "political radicals" and print apprentice Theo Sharpe (Calam Lynch), damaging both El and the Bridgertons to convince the queen that Eloise wouldn't write such scandalous material about herself. Eloise couldn't understand Pen's intention in the heat of the moment, and the fight essentially ended the pair's friendship.

“Eloise and Penelope said such terrible things to one another, and only someone you love can really hurt you in that way,” Coughlan explained to TVLine following season 2. “Penelope really was trying to save Eloise when she wrote those things, but her lying was the worst part. Friendship breakups are so earth-shatteringly horrible. It hurts your soul. We definitely felt the pain of it while we were shooting it.”

But the biggest reveals occur in season 3. Eloise gives Penelope an ultimatum relating to her brother: Tell Colin the truth, or Eloise will before their wedding. Pen struggles to let go of her power, and eventually Colin finds out on his own, rendering him heartbroken. To make matters worse, Cressida (Jessica Madsen)—who was attempting to take credit for Pen’s work—discovers the truth about her identity and blackmails her for double the Queen's offer to reveal her identity, so she could keep Lady Whistledown’s true identity a secret.

Eventually, Penelope takes things into her own hands by outing herself in a letter to the Queen and later revealing the truth to the entire Ton at a ball. So while she’ll keep writing under the pen name of Lady Whistledown in the seasons to come, there’s no more secrecy about who’s behind the quill.

Why does Colin Bridgerton hate Lady Whistledown?

Colin's beef with Whistledown goes back to season 1. Though the column spoke favorably of the Bridgertons initially—she even named Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) the jewel of the social season, demonstrating Pen's love and respect for her best friend's family—Penelope eventually revealed Marina's secret pregnancy and her plan to entrap Colin in marriage. Pen's brutal action was partly sparked by love; revealing Marina's pregnancy protected Colin and his family from potential scandal. However, it was also an act of jealousy that stemmed from Penelope's secret love for the third Bridgerton son.

Following season 1, Coughlan mused to Variety that it was likely a childish miscalculation on Penelope's part, after becoming so accustomed to being overlooked at home and in society. "I know people are really angry at Penelope, but she's 17-years-old. And she's someone who's so ignored in her life. Whistledown is her way to have some power in the world, but she hasn't realized in season one how much power she actually has," Coughlan said.

Still, between ruining Marina and almost ruining Eloise, Colin had no fond feelings for the Ton's top gossip. When he realizes Penelope’s involvement in the back half of season 3, he’s shattered. But after a tumultuous season for the couple, they wind up making amends after he hears Penelope’s impassioned speech about how gossip is merely information, and information is power.

Who knows Penelope is Lady Whistledown in 'Bridgerton?'

Warning: Spoilers for the Bridgerton books ahead. By the end of season 3, Penelope’s secret side gig is out in the open. Just like the book that's the basis of season 3, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, both readers and the residents of the Ton learn Whistledown's true identity. (But, thankfully, the Netflix adaptation made the smart decision to share that detail with the audience in season 1.)

Much of the novel concerns the Ton's efforts, led by Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) rather than the show's original character Queen Charlotte, to unmask the columnist. Partway through, Colin spies Penelope heading deep into London alone and follows her to watch her drop off a letter. This is how he learns that she's Whistledown, and they fight over her secret on the carriage ride back into London, during which a legendary makeout-turned-proposal scene unfolds.

Season 3 ends similarly, with Colin catching Penelope as she delivers a pamphlet that ties her to Whistledown. Just like Couglan told PEOPLE in a June 2023 interview, "It's really special, and it stays very true to the books."

Penelope’s unmasking extends beyond just her husband, though. In an effort to both save her mother from a mounting debt and cast off Cressida’s poor attempts to recreate Whistledown's magic, Penelope writes a letter to Queen Charlotte exposing herself as the mastermind. She pleads for forgiveness in public at a ball, meaning that going into season 4, the entire Ton knows her secret.

Does Lady Whistledown still narrate 'Bridgerton' season 4?

The biggest question regarding Whistledown's fate in Bridgerton was whether the gossip column and Julie Andrews's stellar narration would live on past the end of season 3. In the books, the column does not appear again after Romancing Mister Bridgerton, when Penelope retires as Whistledown. Thankfully, season 4 doesn’t do away with Andrews’s narration completely, though it plays with how and when it appears now that Penelope’s presence is tied to it.

That means we aren’t greeted as “dearest gentle readers” until Penelope meets with the Queen, who is looking for intel on what will be in the latest dispatch as she seeks to control Whistledown’s output. Though season 4 won’t have Penelope and Whistledown as its central focus, the episodes will contend with Pen’s editorial freedom now that she can't hide behind her pen name.