Nicola Coughlan as Penelope in Bridgerton season 3
Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell comments on Julie Andrews’ future as Lady Whistledown after the events of the season 3 ending. Based on the book series by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton was first released on Netflix in 2020, chronicling the lives of the various lords and ladies of the titular family during England’s Regency era. The show recently returned for season 3, part 2, picking up the story of Penelope (Nicola Coughlan). Although Andrews has voiced Lady Whistledown since the start of the show, the Bridgerton season 3 ending sees Penelope finally embrace her identity as the gossip writer.

In a recent interview with TheWrap, Brownell addressses whether Andrews will continue to voice Lady Whistledown following the conclusion of Bridgerton season 3. While the showrunner doesn’t provide a firm answer one way or another, she clearly recognizes just how beloved Andrews’ narration is. Check out Brownell’s comments below:

“It’s Julie Andrews — I’m obsessed with her. I would hate to lose her from the show.

“While she is, in many ways, the voice of Penelope when she was trying to hide herself, I also think she’s just become so iconic as the voice of Lady Whistledown. So we’re playing with different ideas in Season 4, and people have to wait and see where we go with that.”

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Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) looking worried in Bridgerton season 3 Part 2
Image via Netflix

As seen in Brownell’s comment above, it hasn’t totally been figured out just yet how Bridgerton season 4 will handle the voice of Lady Whistledown, who serves as the show’s narrator. The identity of Lady Whistledown has been a crucial story point in all three seasons thus far, but it takes center stage in season 3 as Penelope struggles to balance her alter ego with her love life and friendships. With the season 3 ending seeing Penelope come clean about her alter ego and essentially retire the Lady Whistledown persona, future seasons evidently face a key dilemma.

From a character perspective, it certainly now makes sense to have Penelope become the new Bridgerton narrator. Her arc throughout season 3 has seen her embrace her gossip writing, and her newfound sureness with her identity means that Lady Whistledown is no longer needed as a fictional persona. It could be confusing for Andrews to continue voicing Lady Whistledown after such big revelations and moments of character growth.

That being said, Andrews’ narration, from a viewer’s perspective, is very important. She helped introduce audiences to the Bridgerton family and the world of the show in season 1, and she’s guided viewers through the ups and downs of season 2 and 3. Losing Andrews’ voice could be a major blow to season 4 and beyond. It’s unclear how future Bridgerton seasons will handle this new Lady Whistledown dilemma, but it certainly seems like Brownell recognizes Andrews’ importance to the show.