Why 'Bridgerton's' Nicola Coughlan Feared Getting Fired After Landing Breakout Role

Nicola Coughlan is getting candid about her fears of being replaced on "Bridgerton" before the series began airing.

The 35-year-old actress — who plays Penelope Featherington, a.k.a. Lady Whistledown, on "Bridgerton" — revealed that she was once worried that she might be fired from the hit series and replaced with a more well-known actress as she was still making a name for herself in Hollywood when she snagged her breakout role.

"I should have been like, 'This is amazing,'" the British actress told The New York Times. "Instead, I was like, 'This is fishy. I don't know about this.'"

Coughlan explained that "she had known plenty of actors who were hired onto prestige projects and then fired when the studio demanded a bigger name."

But her fears turned out to be unfounded as Penelope quickly became a fan-favorite character when the show aired.

"I'm happy to say that everyone loved her as much as I did," showrunner Chris Van Dusen told the NYT.

This wasn't the first time that Coughlan has opened up about her fears of losing her "Bridgerton" role.

She previously shared on "The One Show" that she thought she would be fired because she couldn't walk in heels on set.

"Ellen Mirojnick, who is the costume designer on Season 1, said, 'You're tiny, you're too small so we're gonna put you in heels,'" Coughlan was quoted by Us Weekly as saying. "I was just terrified to get fired because I couldn't believe my luck at getting the job. I said, 'Yes, absolutely.' If they were like, 'You have to wear a giant clown suit,' I would have been like, 'I would love that, yes please.'"

Coughlan has also shared some tidbits about the show on social media. The actress previously tweeted that the Kardashians provided inspiration for the actors as they portrayed the Featherington family on-camera.

"As the world's number one @bridgerton stan, does @KimKardashian know that the Kardashians were a massive inspiration for the Featheringtons and we talked about them all the time during our fittings? Because I feel like she should know this," Coughlan wrote in April 2021.

The Skims founder, who is a fan of the show, immediately replied to Coughlan's tweet. "WHAT?!?! I am freaking out!!!!!! This tweet was sent to me on my @bridgerton group chat!" Kardashian wrote. "Can I please come to a fitting?!?! It would make my whole life!!!!!! I love you, Lady W!!!"

Coughlan replied to Kardashian saying that she's more than welcome to visit the set as they film the second season.

"Bridgerton" Season 2 premieres on Netflix Friday.