Who is the new Whistledown? Bridgerton boss reveals they know secret identity

*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Bridgerton season 4 part 2.*

On top of all the romantic, interpersonal and familial drama going on in the Bridgerton season 4 part 2 finale, another surprise was thrown our way when it was revealed that there's a new Whistledown.

With Penelope's (Nicola Coughlan) identity as Lady Whistledown having been unmasked last season, this season saw Penelope try to navigate a life outside of the shadows and in the spotlight.

It ended up not being for her and, not feeling inclined to write her gossip pamphlet any longer, she retired from Whistledown altogether.

However, in season 4's final moments, she's seen writing away at her desk once again. She's not writing Whistledown, but a novel of her own, she tells Colin (Luke Newton). But Colin is confused, handing Penelope a copy of Whistledown before asking her who has written that then.

And with that, it seems as though Bridgerton is back to having that mystery element that made season 1 so delicious in the first place! When asked about whether or not the powers-that-be know who the new Whistledown is, showrunner Jess Brownell told Radio Times: "Shonda and I and all my writers know who Whistledown is and we’ve been writing to that. But that was what was really exciting to us was to A: let Penelope move onto a next chapter as a novelist, in her romance with Colin et cetera.

"But I think once we revealed that Penelope was Whistledown at the end of season 1 and especially now that she’s come out publicly at the end of season 3, the stakes of it – we lost a bit of them in season 4."

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She continued: "It was really fun telling the story of her having to face some accountability with the people she’s written about, but it’s also so fun now to have red herrings and clues and have no one know because it’s not from the books at this point… Yeah we’re going a bit rogue."

As Brownell mentions, this is an aspect of Bridgerton that hasn't been taken from the original Julia Quinn novels and so, it's anyones guess as to who it could be. Could it be someone like Eloise (Claudia Jessie) who is best friends with Penelope and an avid fan of Whistledown's? Could it be Cressida (Jessica Madsen) who previously pretended to be her, but is back in the Ton?

It really is all up in the air but we know that it'll only add further excitement to proceedings as the gossip mill will start churning once again when we're back for season 5.

Bridgerton season 1-4 are available to watch on Netflix now. You can buy the Bridgerton book series on Amazon.

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