Bridgerton’s most mysterious character, Lady Whistledown, is voiced by the incomparable Julie Andrews for a few important reasons. Lady Whistledown is the faceless narrator of Bridgerton. She appears to know everything that’s going on in everyone’s lives and is willing to publish every salacious detail, no matter who is involved. Her gossip column, Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers, is the constant talk of Bridgerton’s high society in Regency Era London, but the column also functions as the narration for the show.
Julie Andrews’s easily recognizable voice, with her distinguished English accent and perfect diction, immediately paints a picture in the viewer’s mind of who Lady Whistledown could be. The audience is led to believe that Whistledown is an older and especially dignified woman. While the audience is fooled by Julie Andrews’s voice, the Bridgerton cast of characters are fooled by her writing. However, since the Bridgerton books exist and so Lady Whistledown’s identity was easy to look up, many wondered why the show decided to hide her identity using the voice of Julie Andrews.
Why Julie Andrews Voices Lady Whistledown In Bridgerton
The Distinguished Tones Made The Final Reveal All The More Shocking
Julie Andrews’s voice represents the fact that Bridgerton’s audience and its characters have a specific and limited idea of who Lady Whistledown could be just from hearing her name and knowing what she writes. Because Lady Whistledown knows every scandal in London, Eloise initially believes that Whistledown must be an older widow of high social status who attends all the most lavish parties but goes largely unnoticed by the other guests.
Despite the fact Eloise is in close contact with the real Lady Whistledown throughout all of Bridgerton, she never suspects her best friend as she can’t imagine Lady Whistledown as anyone but an older, potentially lonely or bored woman.
When Lady Danbury laughs off Eloise’s accusation, Eloise moves on. Then, Eloise thinks it might be a maid or cook in her own household or possibly the Featheringtons. When it’s pointed out to Eloise that anyone in the working class would be too busy for such hobbies, Eloise thinks that it must be Madame Delacroix. Eloise and the queen are, of course, wrong on all counts.
No one would ever have guessed the gossipmonger’s real identity is none other than Penelope Featherington. Despite the fact Eloise is in close contact with the real Lady Whistledown throughout all of Bridgerton, she never suspects her best friend as she can’t imagine Lady Whistledown as anyone but an older, potentially lonely or bored woman. For starters, the bold and cheeky persona of Lady Whistledown is vastly different than Penny’s awkwardly shy, earnest demeanor.
It’s also hard for the prim and proper London gentry to imagine a teenager having the impertinence (and wherewithal) to pull off such an endeavor. Having Julie Andrews as the voice of Lady Whistledown is the perfect bit of symbolism to show just how limited the views of Bridgerton’s high society are.
Bridgerton’s Julie Andrews Trick Isn’t The Only Time A Narrator Had A Different Voice
Several TV Shows Have Had A Narrating Character With A Different Voice Actor
Bridgerton having Lady Whistledown voiced by Julie Andrews rather than Penelope Featherington actor Nicola Coughlan was a great creative decision for the show. Having Andrews in the cast definitely helped Bridgerton draw in an initial audience, and it kept the mystery of the mysterious source of salacious socialite gossip going for viewers unfamiliar with the books. Even after the identity of Lady Whistledown was revealed, it still helped the show by distinguishing the separation between her two identities. However, as inspired as it was, Bridgerton isn’t the only show to use this trick.
The closest comparison is, of course, Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl ran from 2007 to 2017, and was set in a highschool where a gossip column, the titular Gossip Girl, caused no amount of social unrest. Narrations from the Gossip Girl piece were voiced by Kristen Bell through narration, with the identity kept secret until the season finale, when it was revealed that social outcast Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) had been responsible the whole time.
The reveal on Gossip Girl came much later than it did in Bridgerton, and Kristen Bell’s narration keeping the identity of Gossip Girl a secret helped fuel continued interest in the show.
The reveal on Gossip Girl came much later than it did in Bridgerton, and Kristen Bell’s narration keeping the identity of Gossip Girl a secret helped fuel continued interest in the show. The fact that Gossip Girl wasn’t a girl at all also made the reveal all the more shocking. There also shows where an older version of a character narrates, and has a different actor because of this. For example, Ted in How I Met Your Mother was played by Josh Radnor but narrated by Bob Saget.
More recently, Young Sheldon featured Jim Parsons reprising his role as the adult Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory to narrate. Bridgerton may have masterfully used Julie Andrews to voice Lady Whistledown’s narration, but it can’t claim to have come up with the concept of having a different actor voice a character’s narrative voiceovers.
