We Brits have always loved a bit of gossip and scandal sheets – which were early versions of newspaper gossip columns – were jam-packed with everything from lovers caught by husbands in flagrante to royal bed-hopping

Whether gossiping over the garden fence or gawping at celebrity exploits in our Sunday newspaper, we are a nation that loves a bit of tittle tattle.

And it seems we always have, if Bridgerton’s resident gossip queen Lady Whistledown, voiced by Julie Andrews, is anything to go by. Her regular missives to her “Dear Reader” form the backdrop to the Netflix show, which returned for a third series this week. Lady Whistledown’s salacious revelations of love affairs and debauchery may seem far-fetched to us, but such behaviour was standard in the Regency era.

Scandal sheets – early versions of newspaper gossip columns – were jam-packed with everything from lovers caught by husbands in flagrante to royal bed-hopping. Historian and writer Dr Lizzie Rogers says: “We love gossip now and in the Georgian and Regency era they loved it even more.

“They very much would read things like bad behaviour by people, love lives especially, affairs and political goings-on… Trying to take those really famous people in British society down a few pegs, whispers about their private lives.”

Lady Whistledown was revealed at the end of series one to be Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), whose life and quest for love is the focus of the new season. Experts point to similarities between her and Mrs Crackenthorpe, the pseudonymous author of a real 18th century publication, The Female Tatler.

Produced in the early 1700s, hers was one of the earliest incarnations of scandal sheets, publishing scathing satire and observations under the heading “By Mrs Crackenthorpe, a Lady that knows everything”. In the following decades the availability of the printing press and changing libel laws paved the way for more newspapers and magazines – and gossip columns.

Scandal sheets and pamphlets held all levels of society, especially the upper echelons and middle class, in their thrall. Journalists and newspaper runners would sneak into parties, ears open for titbits. Lizzie says: “Having Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton listening to what’s going on is ­accurate, in my opinion – picking up those little bits around the ballroom and feeding them forward.”

Family Historian Laura House at Ancestry, added: “People have always been fascinated by gossip and scandal, and our ancestors were no exception. For centuries, newspapers and magazines have kept us informed about the lives, loves, and liaisons of famous and notorious figures. Like our ancestors, we seek out minute details of celebrities’ lives, as actors, musicians, and royals alike try to win the favour of modern-day Lady Whistledowns.

“Newspapers.com has over 955 million pages of digitised newspapers, giving you access to all the intrigue and scandal that our predecessors pored over with friends and family. Even your own ancestors might have been the subject of a story or two!”

As Bridgerton shows, much of society revolved around the “season”, a period lasting around half the year during which the rich descended on London from their country estates for a series of balls, mixing business and pleasure – not to mention the marriage market. Obsession with the love lives of the rich and famous is nothing new. In the late 1700s, Town and Country Magazine’s Tête-à-Tête pages detailed the illicit encounters, sordid affairs and saucy gossip of the great and the good. And while Lady Whistledown may name and shame people in full, the columns of the time tended to be more circumspect, using initials to camouflage identities. But it was a thin disguise.

Lizzie says: “They wouldn’t publish people’s names but it would be really obvious to whoever was reading it who it was. For example the Duchess of Devonshire would be The Duchess of D.” The Duchess, Georgiana – played by Keira Knightley in the 2008 film – was a regular in the gossip columns.

Scandal sheet readers lapped up every morsel about her, from her clothes and hairstyles to her complicated love life – her husband had a prominent mistress for decades and the three lived together before the Duchess had an affair of her own, resulting in a child. Others who regularly graced the pages included Harriet Mellon, who became the wealthiest woman in Britain after marrying banker Thomas Coutts, and then the 9th Duke of St Albans.

Allegations often appeared of poet Lord Byron’s family’s affairs and orgies, while the royals, especially the Prince Regent, later George IV, and his lover, actress Mary Robinson, were a hot topic. Lizzie says: “A lot of [George’s] dalliances with actresses and famous women took up a lot of inches in gossip columns, especially when he married Queen Caroline and they really hated each other and he treated her really badly.”

In 1820, Theodore Hook launched Sunday newspaper The John Bull, using his access to high society to garner gossip and settle political scores. Historian and author Peter James Bowman says: “He absolutely ripped people to pieces from a political standpoint, anyone who was threatening the establishment.” He followed the editor of The Morning Post, which launched in 1722, who was “renowned for fighting duels with people over what he would publish”, Lizzie says.

She adds: “You could pay for what was called a ‘puff piece’, so you could plant a fake story effectively and pay for a story that would make you look good or your enemies look bad.”

Some scandal sheets are still around today – society rag Tatler was launched in 1709. People were not necessarily mortified to find themselves in a column, says Peter James. He adds: “People loved to see their names in print, even if the reporting wasn’t always that friendly. Reporting in such detail made them seem even more important. It boosted their standing.”

In the 1900s, newspaper gossip columns became popular once again – in fact the Daily Mirror column ‘To-Day’s Gossip’ bared all for readers to digest.

In one paper column, in Feb 1927, it revealed the imminent wedding of Lord Ashley, whose father was the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury and actress/model Sylvia Hawkes. London society was reportedly shocked by the marriage, due to Sylvia’s common status. However, they divorced in 1935 after she began an affair with the American actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr, one of the biggest stars of the silent era.

Laura House told the Mirror: “As print media developed in the 1770s, scandal sheets and printing rumours took took off. It then came back with a vengeance with the 1900s, and that’s when we started to see the gossip columns which are a precursor to what we have today.

“But they were more interested in the minutiae of daily movements. One of the columns in the 1830s talks about which of the members of the royal family went for a walk that day.

“People just wanted to know what everyone was up to because they didn’t have photos. It was the closest they could get to capturing catching a glimpse.”

Bridgerton fans will see for themselves just what revelations Lady Whistledown has in store this series. Given her previous barbs, it’s bound to be a very juicy time in the ton.