Nicola Coughlan Shares Her Mum’s ‘Mad’ Reaction To “Bridgerton” Sex Scenes

Nicola Coughlan, whose role as Penelope Bridgerton in the Netflix hit Bridgerton involves a fair few steamy scenes, has shared how her mum feels about all the on-screen action on tonight’s episode of Graham Norton. 

The star, who’s also known for coming-of-age Irish show Derry Girls, shared that prior to donning her Bridgerton gowns, she’d only ever really played teens. 

“I was 35 and I realised I had never played an adult, and I was like, ‘How do I do this?’” she told Graham. 

“It was then so weird having to play the romantic lead and getting up to sexy things,” she continued. 

Her mum was more weirded out than her, though, Nicola says. 

“My mother was so mad at me about those scenes – as if they were my fault,” the actor told Graham.

In fact the reaction was so strong Nicola says “I didn’t go to the screening with her!”.

In a previous interview, the Bridgerton lead shared that her family watch a different version of each episode than the rest of us ― one with all her more *intimate* scenes removed. 

“It’s literally written into my contract. People think I’m saying it as a joke,” she told SiriusXM. 

“We grew up Irish Catholic. That’s just not how we vibe.” 

Still, the actor’s strict avoidance of awkward family screenings hasn’t stopped her from baring all in the show. 

She told Stylist she was keen to be “very naked on camera” in the period drama as a way of getting back at body-shamers who plagued her career. 

So long as her mother doesn’t catch a glimpse…

The Graham Norton Show continues on Friday night at 10.40pm on BBC One.