Netflix 'Bridgerton' Season 3: Nicola Coughlan on 'Polin' romance, why it was so 'nerve-wracking' to lead this season

The first part of the Netflix hit Bridgerton Season 3 has arrived, with the "Polin" love in full force as Nicola Coughlan's Penelope Featherington (also Lady Whistledown) takes centre stage in this season's story. It marks the beginning of her real romance, and intimacy, with Luke Newton's character Colin Bridgerton.

Many may assume it would be the sexier moments of the season that brought on nerves for the actors. But Coughlan revealed it was another aspect of Season 3 of the Netflix show that was the most "nerve-wracking:" Navigating this season's story as the lead character.

"It was nerve-wracking for me, I think more in the lead-up during Season 2, when I knew I was going to lead Season 3 I was like, 'But I'm not going to do it like Phoebe [Dynevor] and I'm not going to do it like Simone [Ashley]. How am I going to do it?'" Coughlan told Yahoo Canada. "And then when you get given the scripts and they're so rich, they're so full of humour and pathos and intrigue and romance, ... it's just a gift."

"They've really kept the integrity of who she is and each romantic heroine of Bridgeton is going to be completely different to the last. But I feel very lucky that I got to play Pen because she has a little bit of everything."

Bridgerton Season 3, Part 1 release date: May 16
Cast: Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Jessica Madsen, Claudia Jessie, Polly Walker, Ruth Gemmell, Adjoa Andoh, Golda Rosheuvel, Hannah Dodd, Simone Ashley, Jonathan Bailey, Daniel Francis, Martins Imhangbe, Emma Naomi
Bridgerton Season 3, Part 1 number of episodes: 4
Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2 release date: June 13

Watch: Netflix 'Bridgerton' Season 3: Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton on 'extra pressure' to give fans the moments they want

'One of the greatest professional experiences of my life'

Bridgerton Season 3 begins at quite a contentious spot. Penelope and Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) are still at odds, with Eloise having found out that her best friend is in fact Lady Whistledown. That leads her to a new budding friendship with her former foe, Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen). It's not just an opportunity to mix up the pairings on the show, but a way to also expose the vulnerabilities in someone who in previous seasons has very much been positioned as the villain.

"We've been in scenes together where Eloise has been like, 'I'd rather die and hang out with you,' so when Jess [Brownell] told us and when we got the script, it was like such an amazing surprise," Claudia Jessie said. "And then turned out to be one of the greatest professional experiences of my life."

"I've learned so much from [Claudia] this year," Jessica Madsen added. "I feel like I've changed in so many ways as an actor and I feel like [she's] given me such a huge gift. She is unbelievable to work with, the most generous person on the planet. ... That was a giant gift that I will forever treasure."

As 'second chance' at romance

In Season 3, there's another Bridgerton family member ready to make her debut in society, Francesca Bridgerton, played by Hannah Dodd. We see a really enticing dynamic play out with Francesca and her mother, Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell). Francesca isn't necessarily pushing away from this next step in her life, but like all the Bridgertons, they have unique things they want from a marriage.

"[Ruth Gemmell] really looked after me when I joined the show," Dodd said.

"I think Violet's having to explore this season in a slightly different way, she still wants the same for all of her kids, but I think Francesca kind of challenges her in a slightly different way, because she is going to all these balls, she's going to the event. She's not fighting it in any way, but it's trusting that Francesca knows what she wants and trusting that she's not just trying to get it done, so that she can step out of the spotlight again."

But Violet has her own interesting arc in Bridgerton Season 3, getting a bit flirty herself this season when Lady Agatha Danbury's (Adjoa Andoh) brother, Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis), comes to town. It's really a move to explore a possible romantic life for Violet after her husband's death, not just romance for her children.

"She's always going to be tentative because I think it will always be in the backdrop of her family, where that has to be quite solid, and not change and things like that, but it's nice to do that," Ruth Gemmell said. "And it's only right. It reflects women and men that have been through that, and ... get a second chance."

'Life can trip us up at any moment'

Some of our favourite moments in the Bridgerton series have been peeling back the layers on the life of Lady Danbury. In Season 3, her brother's presence puts her in a place where she starts to see her past exposed more than she would like.

"It's great to have a bit of her life coming in that she has shut the door on and coming back to bite her in the ass, to destabilize her, to throw her off her seemingly inevitable flair, confidence and knowing about everything," Adjoa Andoh said. "No one is that person and life can trip us up at any moment, and we better be ready for it."

"I think we see Lady Danbury who is vulnerable and despite whatever age she is, there's still a bit of her that is still a kid fighting with her sibling. ... I look at my mum and her older brother, and they're both in their 80s, and they're still arguing like they're teenagers. ... We do see a bit of that here. I think Lady Danbury, you see the fragility. She's built this world up and she needs it to work like in a certain way, and when it gets thrown off its game slightly, that's a worry for her. Especially when somebody who she regards as troublesome and dangerous, and unreliable, turns their eye towards her beloved friend, who she is in the process of encouraging to say, 'There is life after children.' ... I hope lots of our fans can relate to those complex things that you have to navigate."

The 'scary' moment Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton had to film

But back to Colin and Penelope.

Bridgerton Season 3 has really checked off all the boxes of what fans have been wanting to see, including Penelope confronting Colin about the terrible things she overheard him say about her, that he would never be interested in courting her.

"There's definitely extra pressure on those days when it's something that the audience really wants," Coughlan said. "It was months after we filmed lots and lots of other stuff, and it was scary."

"Also it was less than ideal because we were in the middle of a roundabout, cars beeping and traffic. So it was hard to focus. But thankfully we were at a point then when we were so many months into filming that we were really on a roll with one another. She's got to give it to him and she's going to give it to him ... and make him feel ashamed."

"They haven't been very honest with each other, particularly, in the first couple of episodes, so it's a really nice moment when they kind of get on the same page," Newton added. "The dynamic shift and power shift between them sort of balances out for the very first time out of all three seasons."

'We couldn't have done what we did without feeling incredibly safe'

In terms of the intimate scenes, and we'll tease that one moment happens with the Bridgerton version of Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" playing in the background, Coughlan recognized from reading the books that the sex is very much "in the DNA" of the stories, and "why people love them." She also highlighted that for Penelope and Colin, there was still "humour" and honest "vulnerability" that they had the ability to explore for their characters in those intimate moments.

"This season, it felt so vitally important because they're not just titillating for the sake of it, they are sexy, but they've got beautiful humour within them, they've got vulnerability," she said. "We were given the safest space imaginable. ... We couldn't have done what we did without feeling incredibly safe."

"Because there's a vulnerability, not only in the literal way of being naked in front of someone, all of that stuff, but a vulnerability in the characters and then presenting them, their true selves to one another. But I'm incredibly proud of those scenes. I thought I'd be nervous watching, and I was turning them on. But then watching through them I was like, 'No, I love this.' I'm so happy with what we did and what's out there."