Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan says Netflix period romp has brought unwanted attention

Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan has confirmed her scenes will have a raunchier edge when the show returns for a second season, but admits the fame associated with her role is like ‘being a dog on the tube.’  

The actress, 34, has enjoyed a meteoric rise after featuring in the hugely popular Netflix romp as Penelope Featherington, a role she will reprise when the show returns on March 25. 

Speaking to the latest edition of ELLE, she admits success has its downsides, with fans instantly recognising her whenever she steps out in public. 

She said: ‘Being famous is like being a dog on the Tube. It’s exactly the same energy. When you get on, everyone looks at you. 

‘Some people are so smiley, while some are afraid of you and don’t want to go near. Some people touch you without asking.’   

‘I can still do the things I want to do, obviously, but it is different. I went to the pub with my friend a while back and it was like being an animal at the zoo. People just watching and looking.’ 

She also admitted fans can expect to see her partake in steamier scenes with co-star Luke Newton this season, telling the publication: ‘Oh yes!’ 

Of possible racy scenes between Penelope and Luke’s character Colin Bridgerton, Nicola said: ‘It’s going to happen! We used to joke about it, really inappropriate jokes, like, ”Wouldn’t it be funny if we did this when we do it?”

‘And then as time goes on it becomes more real. Now it’s not funny anymore! Everyone’s like, ”You’re going to have to kiss Luke! On the lips!”’

Nicola also revealed that she didn’t expect Bridgerton to be the global phenomenon it quickly became.

‘I was like, ”OK, great. People are watching.” And then it was like, ”It’s number one in Turkey. It’s number one in Canada. Number one in the US,”’ she explained.

‘I started compiling a list just to try to make it real in my head. And then it was like, ”It’s the biggest show that’s ever been on Netflix, 80 million people,” and it’s like, ”What?” It just was surreal.’

However Nicola did admit she had an inkling the show was going to change her life.

Recalling a conversation she had with Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor, the actress told the magazine: ‘I didn’t think it was going to be the biggest show on Netflix, I didn’t think that level.

‘But I had lunch with Phoebe [Dynevor] maybe about two months before it came out. And I said, ”I think your life’s going to change”.’

‘And she was like, ”No, I don’t know. I’ve done things before that people thought was going to be huge and it hasn’t worked out.” But I just had that instinct about it.’

Despite the world-wide fame that acting eventually granted her, Nicola confessed that it wasn’t an easy process getting to where she is today and offered words of advice for other aspiring actors.

‘Whenever people say they want to get into this industry, I’m like, you’ve got to want it so badly. Because if you don’t, you’d be mad to do it, absolutely mad.

‘I barely saw my family last year because of filming. There’s a lot of sacrifices to be made. In my twenties, I never went on holiday. I was so broke.’

She concluded: ‘So I never want to sell people this ideal that it’s all wonderful and fun. It’s hard work. But it’s amazing. I wouldn’t do anything else.’  

The March issue of ELLE UK is on sale from February 2.