Nicola Coughlan steals the show in the new series of Bridgerton – now give this leading lady a rom com

Stepping into the role of leading lady, the Irish actress, no longer playing the “oddball in the corner”, brings her natural flair for comedy to the fore

Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in season three of Bridgerton. Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix

Meg Walters

Prissy debutantes waltz around in candy-coloured taffeta skirts. Dashing young men with utterly ridiculous mutton chops smirk and smoulder at them from the lemonade table in the corner. Over the distant sounds of a Taylor Swift string cover, the dulcet tones of a rather gossipy Julie Andrews waft through the air. All of this can mean only one thing — Bridgerton is back.

Yes, dearest reader, the first four episodes of season three of the frilliest, silliest, flounciest period drama on TV have landed on Netflix. Based on the romance novels of Julia Quinn, the series follows the love (and sex) lives of the Bridgerton family. Each season focuses on a new sibling as they find love under the stifling gaze of Regency-era British society. It’s a wonderfully effective Jane Austen-meets-50 Shades of Grey-meets-Gossip Girl mash-up.