Nicola Coughlan Went Nude On 'Bridgerton' To Stick It To Body Shamers

By Emily Richardson | TV | May 16, 2024 |

By Emily Richardson | TV | May 16, 2024 |

Today, the first half of Bridgerton Season 3 finally premieres on Netflix. It’s been over two years since the second season aired and several months since we got our sneak peek at Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton’s (Luke Newton) love story. Ugh, this better be good! Or, at the very least, sexy.

Luckily, the wickedly talented Nicola Coughlan is looking out for us Bridgerton horndogs. This week, the actress told UK’s Stylist magazine that she insisted on more nudity for her character. Part of the reason is that Nicola wanted to stick it to people who have ~*opinions*~ about her body, via Hello!:

“I specifically asked for certain lines and moments to be included. There’s one scene where I’m very naked on camera, and that was my idea, my choice. It just felt like the biggest ‘F*ck you’ to all the conversation surrounding my body; it was amazingly empowering.”

“I felt beautiful in the moment, and I thought: ‘When I’m 80, I want to look back on this and remember how [expletive] hot I looked!’” she added.

I mean, Nicola is hot, especially with her Season 3 glow-up. Nicola recently told the New York Times that, in the first two seasons, the objective was “not meant to make me look good… a lot of the Featherington aesthetic was a ‘more is more’ approach.” So, tacky jewelery, gaudy citrus-colored dresses (all that yellow, blegh!), and “tight poodle curls”. Now, the character gets looser, sexier hair, gorgeous dresses, and softer, “enhanced” makeup. Nicola called the transformation “magical”:

“At the first fitting for Season 3, I got teary-eyed. It felt like a Pretty Woman moment. They were finally going to let me shine.”

See you tonight on my couch, hot Penelope and Colin!