Bridgerton stars reveal ‘big obstacle’ for Colin and Penelope in season 3

Oh Lady Whistledown, is that you?

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Wednesday, 15 May 2024 at 18:00 PM

Season 3 of Bridgerton has been a long time coming, and not only are we getting the friends-to-lovers tale we’ve patiently been waiting for, Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) are set to face plenty of bumps in the road to their own romance.

One of the big hurdles to the love story of this season is Lady Whistledown, the mysterious gossip spreader of the Ton who has the power to make or break high society and its residents.

We’ve known since the end of season 1 that Whistledown is none other than Penelope, but it seems as though her double identity is set to throw a major spanner in the works this season.

Chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the Lady Whistledown thread weaving through season 3, Newton said: “I love that this year, the Whistledown story becomes so involved in the show – it’s like the main storyline for a lot of it.”

Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton and Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton standing at the side of a room covered in flowers, both wearing ball gowns and looking nervous.
Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton and Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton.
Laurence Cendrowicz/Netflix

Teasing the way that Whistledown crosses over into Colin’s life this season, Newton revealed: “It’s really interesting because Colin kind of pretends that he’s not directly affected by the things that are said about him by Whistledown, but we all see through that.

“You can see that he is affected, it’s also the people he’s most closest to in his life that are directly affected. So, if anything, out of anyone in the ton, he’s the one that’s most frustrated.

“As much as he pretends he’s not, he’s most frustrated at her, which we always say, that underlying storyline which is most interesting. Because it couldn’t be a bigger obstacle to overcome between the two of them.”

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But how will Whistledown’s growing drama and Penelope’s turn in the spotlight unfold simultaneously? Well, it seems as though it won’t be plain-sailing for Pen, as Coughlan reveals.

She said: “It’s mad because I think since season 1, she’s been like ‘This is Penelope and this is Lady Whistledown, they are two separate entities and never the twain shall meet’. But then you’re like, that’s not realistic.

“You see in season 2, it’s joined a little more and then in season 3, they’re like right there against one another. She’s still trying to go ‘This is all fine, why would I need to tell him?’. It’s definitely a huge cause of conflict.”

The anonymous writer is quite the popular addition to the Ton and often, people wait on her pamphlets to be released to find out who’s set to make their debut, what gossip has been spreading, and can often dictate what names are at the fore of some of the drama to come.

But in the season 2 finale, Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) found out that her best friend Penelope was Lady Whistledown, meaning that there’s some serious tension on the cards for the former friends in season 3.

As per the synopsis: “Complicating matters for Penelope is her rift with Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who has found a new friend in a very unlikely place, while Penelope’s growing presence in the ‘ton makes it all the more difficult to keep her Lady Whistledown alter ego a secret.”