OUT OF THE SHADOWS
It’s time for Nicola Coughlan to take centre stage when Netflix’s hit period drama returns
FROM THURSDAY/NETFLIX
IT’S shaping up to be a big year for Nicola Coughlan.
Derry Girls may be behind her (the beloved sitcom provided the Galway-born star with her breakthrough role as the studious Clare), but she’s now an actor in demand.
We’ve already seen her alongside Lydia West in Channel 4’s dark comedy-drama Big Mood, playing a woman with mental-health issues, and she’s set to appear in the Doctor Who Christmas special alongside fellow Barbie movie alumnus Ncuti Gatwa.
Sandwiched between those two projects is the return of smash-hit period drama Bridgerton. We’re about to be treated to the first part (ie the opening four episodes) of the third season, and although details are scant, what we do know is that Coughlan’s character, Penelope Featherington, will be stepping into the limelight as she searches for a husband.
Helping her is Colin Bridgerton, who is back from his travels with a new look.
Despite his disparaging words about Penelope in the previous run, it soon becomes clear that he now sees her in a whole new light – but whether she feels the same is a different matter...
“I’m in disbelief that I’m the leading lady in a romance show,” Coughlan told Harper’s Bazaar UK last month.
“And it’s not because I find myself hideous, as some people have assumed when I say that (I’ll have you know, in the right lighting I’m a solid seven), but because it’s not something I ever dreamed of.”
She also revealed how the storyline has challenged herself and her on-screen alter ego as both she and Penelope are “stepping out of the shadows and into the light”, adding: “Not only was this a journey that Pen had to embark on, it’s also one I had to go on myself.
I was presented with these brilliant opportunities but was wracked with doubt as to whether I could take on the challenge.”
Another person who may have had a crisis of confidence is Hannah Dodd, who takes over the role of Francesca Bridgerton from Ruby Stokes.
We doubt either woman really needs to worry, however – the series and their careers are in rude health. And long may that continue.