“Bridgerton”’s Claudia Jessie: All Will Not Be Forgotten Between Eloise and Penelope After Polin Reveal (Exclusive)
Claudia Jessie teases Eloise and Penelope’s "complicated" friendship status in season 3 of 'Bridgerton'
This post contains spoilers from the first part of Bridgerton season 3.
Claudia Jessie knows the status of Eloise Bridgerton’s friendship with Penelope Featherington is anything but simple.
Jessie — who plays Eloise on the hit Netflix show — tells PEOPLE that the pair’s friendship is “complicated” on season 3 of the romance drama series after Eloise learned that Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) was, in fact, Lady Whistledown last season.
“I think for Eloise, this Penelope being Lady Whistledown and not telling Eloise is a betrayal,” she explains. “The betrayal is so big for Eloise. Eloise has been on a journey to try and find Lady Whistledown.”
Related: Bridgerton Season 3: The Biggest Differences Between the Netflix Show and Bestselling Book
“She sort of really idealized Lady Whistledown all in the presence of Lady Whistledown,” she explains. “So I think she's really, really upset and embarrassed.”
In season 3, Eloise feels “a bit like the walls are closing on her, whilst being deeply frustrated that her best friend or former best friend isn't telling the truth,” Jessie shares.
“So, I think Eloise is really protective of her family,” she said. “I think all the Bridgerton siblings are quite protective of each other, but also no one knows what's going on because Eloise hasn't told anyone. So I think she must feel so alone. The only other person that knows is Penelope.”
Jessie adds her character is forced to hold onto the secret because “she can't really talk to anyone at the moment.”
By the end of the first part of season 3, another wrinkle in the pair’s friendship emerges when Penelope embarks on a romance with Eloise’s brother Colin (Luke Newton) — a pairing fans affectionately dubbed as "Polin" — though he's still in the dark about his love’s altar ego.
Jessie teases what’s ahead for Penelope and Eloise in the second part of the series, set to be released June 13.
“There's already the situation of why they are no longer friends,” she explains. “And then I think, you know sometimes when you're like, ‘Oh, this has happened,’ and then something else will come up. Maybe it's smaller, but it'll be placed on top and you're like, ‘Oh. And another thing!’ I think Eloise will be in that sort of head space.”
“I think she just feels like she's not been spoken to,” the actress adds. “She's not been, no one's been honest with her. No one has been honest with her, and she's the one that's sitting on this huge secret that isn't really her burden to have. So I can't imagine she's going to be like, ‘All is forgotten.’”
She concludes, “I don't think she'll be just really chuffed for them. I think she's probably going to be a little bit annoyed.”
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The first part of Bridgerton season 3 is now streaming on Netflix, and part 2 drops on June 13.
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