Fans of the show have long been obsessed with Penelope and Colin\u2019s will-they-won\u2019t-they relationship. When it was recently teased that the actors had broken furniture while shooting an intimate scene and that Coughlan had a clause in her contract that means her parents get sent a PG-version of the show, it sent the internet into a tizz. Was Coughlan apprehensive about filming sex scenes with Luke Newton, who plays Colin?<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my gosh, it was definitely intimidating,\u201d she confesses. \u201cHundreds of millions of people watch the show \u2013 not five. That\u2019s really scary. But it was one of the things I enjoyed most. Luke and I had a real hand in what we did and how it came across. We decided what we wanted to show and how we wanted to choreograph the scenes. People often imagine intimacy coordinators saying, \u2018Put your hand here\u2019 or \u2018Do this\u2019 \u2013 and certain people do it like that, but I can always see it on screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had agency and we could let it flow. Thankfully, we had that physical comfort with one another \u2013 so it ended up being a really beautiful thing. Luke is a dream to work with. We really had each other\u2019s back. Having now watched those scenes, I\u2019m so proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Nicola](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/04\/BRIDGERTON302Unit05870R-35de916.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"BRIDGERTON_302_Unit_05870R\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Part of Bridgerton<\/a>\u2019s success is down to its focus on the female gaze; it portrays sex that prioritises women\u2019s pleasure. Are we in an era where content can be unapologetically female? \u201cRomance is the most read genre of fiction in the world \u2013 but people always undermine it. This show broke so many records when it came out. People were asking, \u2018What could be [behind its success]?\u2019 Well, it\u2019s really angled towards women and what women like to watch.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny because people just don\u2019t seem to want to get it. They\u2019re like, \u2018Barbie was good,\u2019 so maybe we should make another doll film? It\u2019s not about the dolls!\u201d she exclaims \u2013 having had a small role in the film as \u2018Diplomat Barbie\u2019. \u201cIt\u2019s about women\u2019s stories in whatever guise they present themselves! It\u2019s just bad business sense not to invest. The proof is in the pudding!\u201d<\/p>\n Bridgerton might be set in the 1800s but there are still many similarities with today\u2019s society. Although the series celebrates female sexuality, the women are still consumed by finding a match, while the male characters are afforded much more leeway with their promiscuity. Is that still relevant?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more insidious now. Men can sleep with as many women as they want, but women can\u2019t do the same. It\u2019s not seen on an equal footing. We like to think that we\u2019re so liberal and open, but I think the world is still far more judgemental towards women having agency with their sexuality than it is towards men.<\/p>\n \u201cPenelope\u2019s also the most modern heroine we\u2019ve had because she doesn\u2019t just want marriage and love \u2013 she also wants a career. I think everyone can relate to the love story \u2013 but for women it\u2019s hard to have it all. There should be no shame in her wanting everything.\u201d<\/p> Coughlan has, in the past, taken to social media to ask fans and press to stop commenting on her body. Does she feel pressure to look a certain way? \u201cI feel very lucky for all the different roles I\u2019ve got to play. I put that down to having an incredible female team around me.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a brilliant agent who never wants to pigeonhole me. I think that\u2019s the way forward and how we\u2019ll break through boundaries in this industry \u2013 women buoy other women up.<\/p>\n \u201cThis industry can be very narrow-minded. Within reason, anyone can play anything. I would never feel like I couldn\u2019t do something. You can change your accent. You can change your hair. You can change your build! If I\u2019m going to play a bodybuilder, I\u2019m going to go to the gym and get hench! People can feel hemmed in \u2013 but I feel like I\u2019ve refused to be thus far and I\u2019m going to continue to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n Coughlan grew up in Galway, with her stay-at-home mum and father who was in the army. She fell in love with acting after watching The Wizard of Oz and secured her first professional job, aged nine, when her drama teacher sent her to an open audition of a James Brolin movie. What did her parents make of her career choice?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure it was slightly baffling for them! I went to university, which was the sensible thing to do. Then I applied to drama school. That\u2019s when it got very real \u2013 drama school is expensive and there were loans to be taken out. With my English degree I could have gone into teaching \u2013 but I knew in my heart of hearts I couldn\u2019t do that. My passion for acting was too strong. I\u2019m sure there were points where my parents were thinking, \u2018Why is she still trying to do this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n And breaking into the industry was no small feat. \u201cMoving to London was hardcore because I was really broke. I was in debt. I had to work every hour of the day to afford to live there \u2013 but that meant I had no time to audition. I didn\u2019t last terribly long that first time in London \u2013 probably six to eight months.\u201d<\/p>\n Coughlan moved back to Galway and worked at an optician\u2019s. It was only when she saw an open casting call for a play at the Old Vic in London that things started to change. Out of 1,500 actors who auditioned she was cast. Did that feel like a breakthrough at last? \u201cI had thought it many times before \u2013 what if this is the one that turns everything around? I was insanely lucky. There\u2019s always the neat way of telling things \u2013 but in reality, it was a year from doing the rehearsal reading, to the play being put on, to me then signing with my agent, to then getting Derry Girls. I had to go back to work in the optician\u2019s in the gaps! Nothing happened quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Coughlan invited every agent in London to see her performance \u2013 but only one came, a representative from Curtis Brown. \u201cShe decided to sign me!\u201d she beams. \u201cIt felt like a huge turning point. It opened doors for me that had never been opened before.\u201d<\/p>\n When her agent asked her what kind of roles she\u2019d like, Coughlan suggested a Channel 4 comedy. Soon afterwards, she was cast in Lisa McGee\u2019s hit sitcom Derry Girls as nerdy Clare. It was the role that made her a household name.<\/p>\n \u201cThe scripts were absolutely incredible on that show. When we were making it, it felt like something special. But, there\u2019s sometimes a lot of backlash to women in comedy \u2013 so I didn\u2019t see it being the big thing that it became. It happened so quickly \u2013 it captured the zeitgeist and my life changed overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Does she keep in touch with her Derry Girls pals? \u201cYes, I\u2019m obsessed with Renegade Nell.Louisa\u2019s amazing. I love Big Boys \u2013 Dylan is doing brilliantly. And then for Siobhan to win her BAFTA, that was just so mega.\u201d<\/p>\n The fame that came about from Derry Girls must have been a precursor to the heights of celebrity she would reach with Bridgerton. What does that feel like? \u201cThere\u2019s no handbook for that. Losing your anonymity is a really odd thing to experience. Mostly it\u2019s lovely \u2013 people are so kind \u2013 but it\u2019s [tough] if you just want to go to the shop on your own or to the doctor! I remember once taking a friend to A&E and someone came up and asked for a picture and I was like, \u2018Not today!\u2019 I never normally say no. It\u2019s hard because there\u2019s no off switch.\u201d<\/p>\n That constant noise is amplified by social media \u2013 and the proximity it has provided for fans to reach their favourite celebrities. \u201cIt\u2019s a very difficult balancing act with social media. I feel very grateful to the fans, and I want to try and give back \u2013 whether it\u2019s with behind-the-scenes pictures or by noticing fan art!<\/p>\n \u201cI used to put my day-to-day life out there but I don\u2019t do that any more. I\u2019ve realised what\u2019s precious to me and what needs to be private \u2013 like my family and my friends from home. I used to love Twitter and then I really got the \u2018ick\u2019 from it and left. I didn\u2019t think it was a nice environment. Some people said I was bullied off of it \u2013 but I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps it was finding fame in her 30s that has enabled Coughlan to have such a strong sense of herself and her priorities. Despite her huge success in Derry Girls, Bridgerton and the recent Channel 4 comedy drama Big Mood with Lydia West, Coughlan seems entirely grounded.<\/p>\n \u201cMy 20s were such a struggle \u2013 it\u2019s really hard not to be doing the thing that you want so desperately. But I think fame then would be hell, so I wouldn\u2019t go back and change it,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m sure 22-year-old me would kick me for saying that \u2013 but you get to live your mistakes. Scrutiny is difficult but it\u2019s easier when you get older to shut certain things out. I lived a whole life before any of this happened. I worked a million different jobs, lived in different places, lived in terrible house shares with mould on the walls.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny because people see you at fancy events and think you must be fancy. No, no, I was making frozen yogurt in Westfield not long ago. This is not normal for me!\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Hannah](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/04\/Bridgerton-season3-HannahDodd-NicolaCoughlan-49cdfb4.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Bridgerton-season3-HannahDodd-NicolaCoughlan\\"\/")
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