Nicola Coughlan has got “very naked” in ‘Bridgerton’ to hit back at people criticising her body.
The 37-year-old actress – whose character Penelope Featherington takes centre stage with Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) in the upcoming third season of Netflix’s steamy period drama – decided to totally strip off for one scene in what she has described as an “empowering” moment.
She told the Radio Times magazine: “There is one where I am very naked on camera and that was my idea, my choice.
“It just felt like the biggest ‘f*** you’ to all the conversations surrounding my body.
“It was amazingly empowering. Having now watched those scenes, I’m so proud of them.”
The ‘Big Mood’ star admitted shooting the racy scenes were actually her favourite part of filming, and the actors “had a real hand” in the whole process.
She explained: “It was definitely intimidating. Hundreds of millions of people watch the show. That’s really scary.
“But [the sex scenes] was one of the things I enjoyed most. Luke and I had a real hand in what we did and how it came across.
“Thankfully we had that physical comfort with one another, so it ended up being a really beautiful thing.'”
Nicola and Luke ended up “so comfortable together” that they would lounge around naked in between filming.
She recently told Teen Vogue magazine: “That is true. It is a testament to the fact that we just got to a point where we were so comfortable together.
“We’d just finished the big sex scene, the most intense and involved one…. and we just felt relieved.”
Their chemistry on and off screen has sparked rumours of a real life romance, and Nicola admitted it’s “really sweet” fans think they’re dating.
She told Extra: “We think it’s really sweet, I think because we truly love each other…
“He is a really special person in my life, and I got to do this experience with him.
“I’ll never get to do something like this again, on this scale… It’s so nice having such a lovely friend that I can do all this with.”
