Nicola Coughlan Opens Up About ‘Intimidating’ Bridgerton Sex Scenes With Luke Newton

After four years of will-they-won’t-they build-up, Bridgerton fans are finally going to be able to enjoy an entire season dedicated to the romance between Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton.

Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton are set to take centre stage in season three of the record-smashing Netflix show, which arrives back on screens Thursday (16 May) with the first four episodes of its latest series.

As dedicated viewers of the romantic regency drama will know, its intimate scenes are an integral part to the hit show, meaning Nicola’s role as the sweet young Featherington sister is about to undergo a big change.

In a recent interview with the Radio Times, the Derry Girls star revealed that the prospect of filming sex scenes with her friend and co-star was “definitely intimidating”.

She explained: “Hundreds of millions of people watch the show – not five. That’s really scary.”

However, Nicola shared that it was actually one of the aspects she enjoyed the most about the filming process.

“Luke and I had a real hand in what we did and how it came across,” she shared. “We decided what we wanted to show and how we wanted to choreograph the scenes.”

The actor continued: “We had agency and we could let it flow. Thankfully, we had that physical comfort with one another – so it ended up being a really beautiful thing.”

Nicola concluded that Luke is a “dream to work with”, and they “really had each other’s back”. 

The prospect of a full-on “Polin” romance had fans screaming when it was revealed the pair actually broke some furniture during filming of one of their sex scenes.

Nicola has certainly gone on a journey as the dark horse of the ton.

In a recent first -person essay for Harper’s Bazaar, she admitted that while she is “terrified of the scrutiny, the opinions, the number of eyes on me” since Bridgerton’s rise, she’s ultimately proud of “these beautiful shows we’ve made”. 

Bridgerton season three 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.

Read Nicola Coughlan’s full interview in the latest issue of Radio Times.