Why We Love Julie Andrews' Clever Voice Over Narration in 'Bridgerton'

From the creative studio of prolific hit-series producer Shonda Rhimes, Bridgerton is the answer to what do you get when you combine Gossip Girl and Downton Abbey with a color-blind casting? 

At first glance, Bridgerton seems more Downton Abbey than Gossip Girl, but the audience is quickly divested of that notion the moment we’re introduced to the scandalous writings of our narrator, Lady Whistledown. With voiceover narration provided by Julie Andrews, Lady Whistledown is the premier source of entertainment - and fear - for each and every character in the hit Netflix series. Her scandal sheets don’t just follow and speculate on the goings-on of the illustrious upper echelons of British society, Lady Whistledown is the eyes and ears for everything unseemly. Her narration sets the pace for the series and acts as the great unifier for each character in the story.

Nobody is beyond Whistledown’s reach, and even the Queen is powerless against her pen - much to her own chagrin. Her voice through her narration is so important, in fact, that it’s the driving force of intrigue behind the first season of the series. As much as the audience wants to know if the love interests line up, what they really want to know is: who is Lady Whistledown?

Every plot point in the series is not just directed by Whistledown’s writings but hastened for fear of them. Nobody wants to be caught under her watchful eye and rightfully so - unlike Gossip Girl which is set in the modern day, the taboos of Georgian society are slight, unforgiving and devastating. Simply being spotted with a member of the opposite sex outside of a ball or without a chaperone is enough to ruin not just an individual life, but the honor of an entire family. Navigating the rules of Regency London is difficult enough without a gossip column looming around the corner, and the way each episode plays out is representative of that. 

The Whistledown is so much more than a mere point of intrigue - it IS the intrigue. 

It’s the glue that holds us to our seats as audience members and keeps us guessing what happens next. Which scandal is next to come to light? There are so many of them going on at any given moment it's impossible to tell who her next subject might be. 

If you haven’t seen the series yet, or plan to binge-watch it soon, then you might want to skip over the next few sentences, as there are spoilers ahead that pertain to the identity of Lady Whistledown.

Unlike Gossip Girl, which held off until the series finale to reveal who was behind the screen, Bridgerton gives us the identity of our narrator sooner rather than later.

At the end of the first season, the audience is finally treated to the answer we’ve been thirsting for since episode one - and it fails to disappoint. Aptly named for her secretive role as the narrator, the frustratingly obvious, Penelope ‘Pen’ Feathington is outed to viewers as Lady Whistledown. Going forward, only the audience knows the truth behind her identity and our narrator further drives the plot by keeping us wondering how long she can maintain the deception and double life. The audience is left to wonder how long before one of the main characters manages to figure it out for themselves; how far is Pen willing to go to protect her secret - even from her best friend. Especially with the Queen hot on her tail, subverting the attention of friends and family becomes increasingly challenging as Pen struggles to juggle her dual identities.

With the fact that Pen is often seen alone at social events and has little-to-no interest in unmasking the writer, it only begs the question, how long before the other characters manage to figure it out?

In hindsight, Penelope’s chosen nickname and chronically overlooked character should have given it away all along, but the seasoned and eloquent voice-over of Julie Andrews is so misleading that nobody could possibly have guessed the true age behind the writer. 

Given how properly she speaks and worldly she sounds, it’s no small wonder that characters assume Lady Whistledown is much older than she really is. 

Every word she publishes is seemingly part of a carefully articulated persona that nobody can figure out - even her supposed best friend is so far off the mark it almost hurts to watch. Part of the difficulty in unmasking her, however, is that Lady Whistledown is just a pen name used to express who Penelope is on the inside. Lady Whistledown is the real Penelope, and the timid debutante is the actual mask. Her best friend doesn’t know who she really is because the entire relationship is built on a facade. 

Even the Queen, for all the resources and agents of intrigue at her disposal, can’t seem to pin down Whistledown’s true identity and the narrator remains at large until the very end of the second season. 

While Bridgerton has only just pulled the curtains on its second season, it’s already managed to garner 12 Emmy nominations and one win; including one nomination for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance. The acclaimed Shondaland series also took home an MTV Movie + TV Award for Best Breakthrough Performance in 2021 and a TV Choice Award for Best New Drama - among countless other nominations. 

With the beloved series picking up serious momentum, it’s already been approved for the third season and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. 

Kim Handysides is an award-winning voice artist and coach. Talent on over 20K projects, her narrations have been heard on Discovery, Netflix, and the major networks, in iMax, the White House and the Smithsonian.