After what feels like an eternity, it is finally time for a new season of the hit Netflix show Bridgerton. Part one of the series has dropped, and we are so excited to see romance bloom between Penelope and Colin. Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope, has been opening up about what it felt like to take center stage as the star of her own season of the show. One of the things Bridgerton is most well-known for is the steamy romances that keep viewers coming back. And Nicola is absolutely on board for all of the sex scenes that come with being the star. In fact, she is welcoming the challenge, if for no other reason than to silence any conversations about her body.
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She pushed for more nudity on screen this season.
“I specifically asked for certain lines and moments to be included,” Nicola explained in a new interview with Stylist. “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— 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 f—ing hot I looked!’”
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Nicola wanted to be in control.
Nicola shared that she worked closely with Bridgerton intimacy coordinator Lizzy Talbot to make sure the sex scene was everything she wanted. “You go, ‘Ok, what do I want to show? What don’t I want to show? What’s scripted, and what do I want to add?'” she explained.
She also added that she feels “great” about being naked on camera this season “because not only did I consent to it but I drove it.”
Fans are loving Nicola's attitude.
People immediately began circulating the quote on social media, praising Nicola for always being outspoken against body-shaming and even calling her words "healing."
“She has no idea how many lives she is literally going to change! like i know girlies who never felt represented are going to feel it! and i can't wait to be a part of that history!” one person tweeted on X (formerly Twitter).
“This is why we Stan her!!! She deserves nothing but love and as a bigger lady myself to see representation means so much to me!!!! And having a curvy character who's not just the 'funny fat friend,’” another tweet read.
Nicola has never stayed silent about body shaming.
This isn’t the first time she’s addressed the body shaming she faces. In 2022, she tried to shut down talk about her body in a since-deleted Instagram post.
“Hello! So just a thing- if you have an opinion about my body please, please don’t share it with me,” she wrote in the caption, which was shared by multiple news outlets at the time. “Most people are being nice and not trying to be offensive but I am just one real life human being and it’s really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day. If you have an opinion about me that’s ok, I understand I’m on TV and that people will have things to think and say but I beg you not to send it to me directly.”
'Bridgerton' writers skipped a major plot from the book.
Perhaps Nicola’s body confidence can be used as a reason the Bridgerton showrunners decided to cut a major plot from the book regarding Penelope’s weight. Refinery29 Australia reported that the show decided to abandon the part of the book where Penelope loses a significant amount of weight.
“I think Penelope's outer appearance has nothing to do with her story,” explained Jess Brownell, the new showrunner for season three. “Her story is absolutely about her internal journey — that's what matters."
