Nicola Coughlan has shared that people “assume” she finds herself “hideous”.
The Bridgerton star revealed in a new first person essay for Harper’s Bazaar that while she’s “in disbelief that I’m the leading lady in a romance show”, that feeling most definitely does not stem from how she feels about her appearance.
Speaking of her leading turn in season 3 of the hit Netflix show, she explained that her surprise was “not because I find myself hideous, as some people have assumed when I say that (I’ll have you know, in the right lighting I’m a solid seven), but because it’s not something I ever dreamed of”.
The Derry Girls star elaborated that when he was little she wanted to be “one of the Gay Icons”, explaining: “‘Bette Midler as CC Bloom? God, that’s so me!’ thought six-year-old Nicola.”
She added: “I never sought to be the ingénue, purely because they never seemed to get the best lines or looked as if they were having the most fun.”
While this season sees Nicola reprise her role as Penelope Featherington, the “major difference” is that she goes from a “supporting character, the oddball in the corner” to “centre-stage”, as the show will focus on her relationship with Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), with fans having already affectionately named them Polin.
Nicola explained that she has gone on a similar journey to her character as she steps into the spotlight.
She concluded that while she is “terrified of the scrutiny, the opinions, the number of eyes on me”, she is ultimately motivated by the pride in her work and “these beautiful shows we’ve made”.
Bridgerton season 3 will be arriving in two parts, with the first four episodes out on Thursday, 16 May 2024 and the next four on Thursday, 13 June.
In the meantime, you can check out everything we know about the Polin-focused season here.