Nicola Coughlan:

We see too few breasts as perfect as mine

Nicola Coughlan causes a big buzz with a statement about her body and breasts.(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Dimitrios Kambouris)

"Blessed be she". "Iconic." "Great answer". Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington in the Netflix series "Bridgerton", is being celebrated online as an icon for her clever answer to a question about her nudity in the series. 

During an appearance in Dublin as part of the promotional tour for the second part of the third season of the cult series, the topic turned to an announced sex scene in "Bridgerton" in which Nicola Coughlan is naked. A journalist described this as courageous on the part of the 37-year-old actress, but she did not accept this.

On the contrary, she countered the subliminal insult to her character with what many fans on X, where a video of it is circulating, believe to be an ingenious response. 

You can listen to the video for yourself here:

"Community of Perfect Breasts"
Smiling charmingly, she said: "You know, it's hard because I think women with my body type - women with perfect breasts - don't get noticed."

She continued: "We don't see ourselves on screen often enough. I'm very proud to be a member of the perfect breasts community. I am proud of it. And I hope you enjoy seeing them!"

Coughlan can't always be heard clearly in the viral video because the audience cheers and applauds her so loudly.

The trailer for season 3, part 2:

"My idea, my choice!"
The sex scenes with her film partner Luke Newton (Colin Bridgerton) had encouraged her, Nicola Coughlan revealed to "Stylist" magazine before the first four episodes of season 3 were broadcast. She had even asked for more nude scenes to tease her body shamers with the revealing shots.

"I specifically asked for specific lines and moments to be included," Coughlan explained in the interview. "There's a scene where I'm very naked in front of the camera and that was my idea, my choice."

He continued, "It felt like the biggest 'fuck you' to all the conversations that have been going on about my body. It was just incredibly powerful."

Mutual trust
In an interview with "Closer" magazine, she gushed that she felt very comfortable during the intimate scenes in which things got hot between Penelope Featherington and her longtime crush Colin Bridgerton.

"I was very lucky to have known Luke from the first season. They just trusted each other and said, 'let's do it'." It was something special and at one point she even had a moment where she finally realized, "Oh my God, we really are the romantic leads of the season."

Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington and Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington get closer in the third season.(Bild: © 2023 Netflix, Inc.)

The former Derry Girls actress enjoyed showing a different side to Penelope as her character developed in the new season. "I really loved playing the humorous side of her because I always feel like she's going through so much," she said. "It was so much fun to play how silly she is and how unable she is to talk to men."

The final episodes of season three stream from Thursday (June 13).