Nicola Coughlan will leave the role of Penelope in the fifth season of *Bridgerton*
Actress Nicola Coughlan, known for her role as Penelope Featherington in the series “Bridgerton,” has announced that she will be stepping away from the role in the fifth season.
“Bridgerton” star Nicola Coughlan has announced that she will step away from the role of Penelope Featherington in the upcoming fifth season. The actress revealed this in an interview with E! News.
According to Coughlan, her decision is tied to the conclusion of an important chapter in her character’s story. She called it a “bittersweet feeling” and noted that one of the show’s main strengths is that each season tells a new story.
Penelope Featherington was the first Lady Whistledown—the secret author of a gossip pamphlet about the lives of London’s aristocracy. Her identity was revealed at the end of the third season, when news broke of her romance with Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton.
In the fourth season, Penelope faced the consequences of her identity being revealed and lost the ability to write about other people’s lives as she had before. Ultimately, she decided to step down as Lady Whistledown, focusing instead on her marriage to Colin and motherhood.
At the same time, a new gossip columnist appeared at the end of the season. Her identity remains a mystery for now. Coughlan admitted that she herself doesn’t know who is behind the persona of the new Lady Whistledown.
“I’m really bad at keeping secrets. I told everyone and said it was me. So they know they shouldn’t tell me,” the actress joked.
Cochlan also noted that she doesn’t yet know how many episodes of the fifth season her character will appear in. The new episodes are scheduled to premiere in 2027.
“I’d always be happy to return to *Bridgerton* if I’m invited. If I’m asked to play an extra, I’d gladly take it on,” she said.
Source: Page Six.
Netflix has released the release schedule for Season 4 of “Bridgerton.”
As a reminder, Netflix is developing new stories set in the “Bridgerton” universe.
Additionally, the third season of “Bridgerton” made it into Netflix’s top ten most popular series.
