The Surprising Reason Nicola Coughlan Thought She Was Going To Get Axed From Bridgerton
When "Bridgerton" premiered on Netflix on Christmas Day 2020, the steamy show quickly became the thing pretty much everyone was talking about. The Regency-era show — based on the novel series of the same name — guided viewers through "the season," aka the time when the elite (and eligible) men and women would attend a series of glamorous events, and by the end, pair off to be wed (via Tatler). The show's first season followed, amongst other characters, the will-they, won't-they saga of Simon, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), with all of their misadventures narrated by Lady Whistledown, the anonymous Gossip Girl of Bridgerton.
And although Page and Dynevor breathed life into the show's most prominent characters, the breakout star of the season was Lady Whistledown herself, who was revealed to viewers to be Eloise Bridgerton, played by Nicola Coughlan.
Now, in advance of the second season, Coughlan is teasing a little bit about what's in store for her character.
"Season 2 really lets you see all the little inner workings of how she's been getting away with it," Coughlan told TV Insider. "I mean, for me, it was so much fun to get to do all of that and to play all the different sides of her — the businesswoman side or this sneaky side of the alter ego that she has for herself."
The downsides of starring in a costume drama
Because "Bridgerton" takes place in the 1800s, the characters dress accordingly, wearing elaborate empire silhouette dresses. For Coughlan, who previously starred on "Derry Girls," becoming accustomed to the "Bridgerton" style of dressing was an adjustment — wearing heels, in particular (via Us Weekly).
"Ellen Mirojnick, who is the costume designer on season one, said, 'You're tiny, you're too small so we're gonna put you in heels,'" Coughlan shared on "The One Show." "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.'"
Unfortunately for Coughlan, she'd discover heels were a lot less comfortable than a clown suit.
"On my first day on set, we were walking around and I toppled over not once, not twice, but three times," Coughlan revealed. "Three times! I thought, 'They're going to think I'm drunk. they're going to think I'm crazy.'"
Luckily for Coughlan, not only did she get to keep her job, but they heels were officially nixed shortly thereafter. A happily-ever-after, "Bridgerton" style.