Bridgerton season 1 spoilers follow.
Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan says season 1 originally had an alternate ending.
Fans of the Netflix hit will know her as Penelope Featherington, who's unmasked as the gossip columnist Lady Whistledown at the end of the season.
But according to Coughlan, Bridgerton bosses weren't certain when this particular reveal was going to explode on screen.
"They didn't know they were going to reveal it in season one," she said during a panel at the streamer's TUDUM event. "They had changed back and forward a few times, they were going to do a red herring.
"It was a reshoot in July, so they had filmed a different ending. They were going to make it seem like it was Cressida Cowper."
In the end, this choice was beneficial for Penelope's upcoming season 2 storyline, Coughlan explained to co-stars Simone Ashley (Kate Sharma), Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) and Charithra Chandran (Edwina Sharma).
"How do I say this without being a spoiler? It's very satisfying, what happens with Penelope, in season 2," she teased.
Meanwhile, Coughlan also recalled the unusual way in which she found out about her character's secretive side business.
"I found out in a bizarre way, because when we auditioned, we knew very little about the show," the Derry Girls star explained.
"It was only after getting cast that then I found out, and I found out on an internet fan forum, 'cause I realised that there was this huge, huge fandom behind these books.
"It was like this whole other world opened up, but they were like ,'When Penelope is revealed as Lady Whistledown...' and I went 'WHAT?'
"Getting cast in a Shondaland Netflix show was major, but that's so much more major than I ever could have imagined," Coughlan continued.
Bridgerton season 1 is now available to watch on Netflix. Season 2 is in production.
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