Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan is “terrified” to be taking on the lead role in Bridgerton.
The third series of the Netflix smash focuses on the love story of Nicola’s character, Lady Penelope Featherington, with Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton, 31.
But Irish actress Nicola, 37, wasn’t initially thrilled to be taking centre stage. She told the Daily Star Sunday: “It’s terrifying coming back knowing that the story is your love story.
READ MORE: Every ‘clue’ Bridgerton fans missed about Lady Whistledown’s real identity
“Finding out during season two gave me that year to prepare mentally, but it’s still incredibly scary and intimidating.
“I wasn’t sure how I felt about it right away. It took a little while for it to sink in. I was just saying the day before I found out how much fun it was playing the ‘weirdo in the corner’ character because there’s much less pressure.
“Then I got the call like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to be centre stage’. It was kind of terrifying, but once I chilled out, I knew it was going to be amazing.”
Bridgerton has been a worldwide phenomenon. Nicola’s quirky character became a fan favourite after being unmasked as mysterious “Lady Whistledown”.
She found fame in 2018 playing schoolgirl Clare Devlin in Channel 4’s award-winning Derry Girls.
And she will star in this year’s Christmas special of Doctor Who. Despite landing big roles, Nicola still gets nervous filming.
She said: “You’re in a ballroom with 200 supporting artists, 30 cast members, all of the crew, and everyone’s looking.
(Image: Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
“The nerves and trepidation Penelope felt were very much fuelled by my own… I was afraid I was going to fall down the stairs.”
Fans are convinced Nicola and co-star Luke are dating in real-life after they were spotted holding hands.
Nicola admitted they grew close while filming. She said: “Dance rehearsals are quite intense, you spend a lot of time literally staring in one another’s eyes.
“At the beginning that was really intimidating to do, but now I feel like there’s such safety in that, because there’s trust, so I know you got me, I got you, let’s do this, we’re fine. It was special.
“I’ve been super lucky having Luke, from the start all the way to now. I’ve been so lucky to have someone to talk about it with before we came in, and sort of go, “Isn’t it crazy? It’s going to be awesome.”
Bridgerton returns to Netflix on Thursday.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
