Ask me anything
Derry Girls’ Nicola Coughlan talks Zoom quizzing, boob pillows and being friends with JVN…
What’s your on-set personality?
I’m the napper. So whenever they can’t find me they just know I’m asleep in the trailer. After
Harlots and
Bridgerton I’ve even learned to nap in a corset. Your boobs create quite a nice shelf to rest on, too.
People love that you and Jonathan Van Ness are friends…
He’s one of my favourite people in the world. During lockdown he and I had a weekly quiz with some of our friends and family, and we did a different theme each week. I did the noughties and dressed up as Avril Lavigne and he did one about ice-skating that nobody did well at except for Jonathan…
If you two had a talk show together, what would it be called and why?
A Mile A Minute, because we both speak so fast.
What’s your favourite Derry Girls moment?
There’s a scene at the end of series one where we’re all dancing together. It was before the show had gone out, we weren’t known actors, and we had no idea what the world would make of it. We got so close over the summer that we shot it… and that scene is so joyful and celebratory, it makes me cry every time.
Name three things you can’t live without…
I recently got this shiatsu back massager that you wear over your shoulders like a shrug and I’m obsessed with it – nobody can make me stop talking about it. Also my robot hoover – even though it did once eat my bra – and eyelash-curling kits.
What are you reading at the moment?
Cheer The F**k Up by Jack Rooke. It’s really funny and practical and it deals with mental health in a non-patronising, refreshing way.
Something that annoys you?
People with bad plane etiquette… People who fart on planes or take their shoes off – that’s terrible behaviour. It drives me mad. I’m like, “This is not your house.”
What is (producer of Bridgerton) Shonda Rhimes like in real life?
She’s a powerhouse of intelligence; she’s amazing. Years ago, I was having quite a low point when I read her book, Year Of Yes, and she is so inspiring and front-footed and the book really helped me. So when I first met her, I panicked and held her hands and kept thinking, “Do I let go..? When’s the right time to let go?”
“During lockdown, JVN and I had quizzes – I did the noughties“
Watch Bridgerton from Christmas Day on Netflix