'Bridgerton' Star Nicola Coughlan Talks About Filming Sex Scenes For Season 3

“Bridgerton” star Nicola Coughlan has opened up about the possibility of filming sex scenes for season 3. The actress previously revealed that the upcoming season will focus on the love story of her character, Penelope Featherington, and Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton.

In an interview with E! News on Monday, Coughlan answered whether or not she was ready to film sex scenes for the next season of the hit Netflix series. “I’m gonna have to be!” she quipped, adding that she finds it “terrifying” to take the lead in season 3.

The actress explained that while she has “known for a really long time” that she will be the focus of the new season, she’s “too scared” to talk about it. “I’ve known for, like, two weeks into filming season two, so I had a lot of time to adjust to it,” she said.

“But then, last night when they were like, ‘The news is coming out. You can talk about it.’ I was like, ‘I don’t want to. I’m too scared.’ When I say it out loud, it makes it real,” she added.

Coughlan first talked about her central role in season 3 when she appeared on the ATAS panel for the opening night of Netflix’s FYSEE Space on Sunday. “Like Lady Whistledown, I have been keeping a secret for quite some time and I can confirm to you all that season 3 is Colin and Penelope’s love story,” she said at the time.

“I have kept that secret since two weeks into season 2. This is the first time I am saying it here,” she said.

The possibility of a romantic storyline for Penelope and Colin has been teased since season 1 when the two characters started to build their friendship. In season 1, Penelope hoped that Colin would see her in a romantic light despite their close friendship. This continued until the end of season 2 when Colin started to have thoughts about possibly being more than friends with Penelope. However, he dismissed the idea and told his friends he had never dreamed of courting her.

“Bridgerton” season 3 is set for release in 2023.