Bridgerton Season 1 called it diversity but gave Penelope hideous dresses, proving that true inclusion needs more than just bad fashion choices.
Bridgerton Season 1 promised a diverse, dazzling ballroom, but somehow confused that with tossing one chubby girl into a pile of hideous dresses. While everyone else twirled in silks and satins, poor Penelope Featherington got stuck wearing outfits that looked like rejected couch covers. If this was Bridgerton’s idea of body positivity, someone clearly spiked the tea.
In a world built on beauty and scandal, letting the only plus-size character be a walking fashion disaster feels less like inclusion and more like an afterthought.
Bridgerton season 1 reduced Nicola Coughlan’s character to ugly dresses
When Bridgerton first hit Netflix, it promised lavish drama, forbidden romance, and, supposedly, diversity. But what it actually served was one plus-size character, Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), trapped in a parade of painfully unflattering dresses.
And if you’re a true rom-com fan, you know the real magic isn’t the meet-cute or the first kiss, it’s the makeover scene — like Julia Roberts slaying snooty saleswomen in Pretty Woman, Rachael Leigh Cook’s epic staircase reveal in She’s All That, and Sandra Bullock’s Oscar-worthy strut to Mustang Sally in Miss Congeniality.
However, Season 3 of Bridgerton finally handed Penelope her makeover moment. Inspired by classic rom-coms, Penelope swapped her cartoonish yellows for a stunning green gown and glam waves. She had her “every-eye-in-the-room” moment, and then it all went sideways.
Instead of swooning suitors, she got ripped dresses and rejection. Actress Nicola Coughlan loved it. Speaking to Mamamia, she alluded,
The lesson is that she has to learn to love herself and grow her inner confidence…So it doesn’t really matter what she looks like. She immediately tries to flirt with men after her makeover and she finds she absolutely can’t.
To get to play that was joyful for me because I’m a real comedy girlie. So I really loved all the rom-com elements in this season. But I think what I love most about her transformation is how gradual it is, and how internal it is. It’s all about her loving herself.
Off-screen, Coughlan faced real-life scrutiny too. After being called “the fat girl from Bridgerton” at the Golden Globes, she clapped back, “I have a name.” And when constantly asked about her body, she didn’t hold back (via NZHerald):
It’s so reductive to women when we’re making great strides for diversity in the arts, but questions like that just pull us backwards…My body is the tool I used to tell stories, not what I define myself by.
Turns out, Bridgerton finally got it right: real transformation isn’t about a killer dress, it’s about self-worth.
Nicola Coughlan drops Bridgerton clues during sweet red carpet debut with Jake Dunn
Nicola Coughlan made her red carpet debut with boyfriend Jake Dunn and packed it with Bridgerton easter eggs (Elle). Stepping out at the BAFTA Television Nominees’ Party on April 26, the Penelope Featherington actress made it clear: her character is never too far from her heart.
Wearing a black Carolina Herrera mini with a dramatic tulle bow, Coughlan nodded to Penelope’s future with Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) as seen in An Offer from a Gentleman. The all-black look? A hint at Penelope shedding her old self as she enters married life.
The Bridgerton star had earlier teased doing the red carpet “in her own way” because “Penelope is a leading lady in her own way.” Coughlan confirmed her relationship with Dunn back in February, and after cozy London sightings, their official debut has fans swooning.
