Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton formed a close friendship while bringing Penelope and Colin’s love story to life on Bridgerton.
The Netflix series, which debuted in December 2020, is based on author Julia Quinn’s book series about a group of siblings’ journey to find love. Coughlan and Newton were in a unique situation since their characters appear on the show for several years before being promoted to leads.Working closely on the first two seasons of Bridgerton allowed Coughlan and Newton to build a close connection as they eased fans into Penelope and Colin’s friends-to-lovers story line. Despite being the self-proclaimed captain of the “Polin” relationship, however, Coughlan admitted ahead of season 3 how “terrifying” it felt filming the romantic scenes with Newton.
“Luke and I read the books at the beginning of season 1, and it was funny to us. We were like, ‘Imagine if we have to kiss and do this,’” she recalled to Entertainment Tonight in June 2023. “And then season 3 came on and we were like, ‘Oh god.’ And then it’s like, it’s my friend. I have to kiss my friend. And you can’t pretend to kiss someone, you have to really kiss them. It’s a spicy one. It’s a lot of the stuff from the books that the fans expect has made it into the show.”
Keep scrolling to see the sweetest moments from Coughlan and Newton’s friendship:
July 2019
Coughlan and Newton’s casting was announced in 2019 as the cast prepared to film the first season of the regency series.
October 2019
Before season 1 premiered on Netflix, Coughlan offered a glimpse behind the scenes at her and Newton.
December 2020
The first season introduced fans to Penelope a.k.a Lady Whistledown, who had a crush on her friend Eloise Bridgerton’s (Claudia Jessie) brother Colin. Before Penelope was unmasked as the anonymous gossip writer in the finale, season 1 showed Lady Whistledown ruining Colin’s engagement to Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker).
March 2021
Coughlan and Newton reunited for SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s virtual table read of Happy Days. They were joined by Henry Winkler, Glenn Close, John Carroll Lynch, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Jamie Chung.
June 2021
After reuniting on set, Coughlan uploaded an Instagram snap of her and Newton preparing to film season 2.
July 2021
“A little birdie told us it was #Polin week so here’s a little something ❤️🐝,” Coughlan wrote via Instagram in reference to a fan initiative that promoted the romance between Penelope and Colin.
March 2022
Season 2 showed Penelope and Colin forming an even closer friendship. But what Penelope saw as a chance at romance, Colin just interpreted as platonic. In the finale, Penelope was heartbroken to overhear Colin telling his friends that he would “never” court her.
May 2022
During an interview, Coughlan weighed in on the racy scenes she would be shooting with Newton for season 3, telling Netflix’s Tudum, “I couldn’t ask for a better partner to go into this with. I have such trust in Luke, and I hope he has it in me to go forward on it.”
June 2022
Coughlan and Newton celebrated being the leads of season 3 with an Instagram photo highlighting their “Main Character Energy.”
October 2022
“We’ve been busy 🐝,” Coughlan captioned an Instagram post of her and Newton on the set of the third season.
June 2023
Coughlan praised Newton for his performance in The Shape of Things, writing via Instagram, “Smashing it up on the London stage and I’m so proud, you’re the best @lukenewtonuk.”
That same month, Coughlan recalled filming a romantic scene with Newton, telling ET, “Oh my God, there was one day where we had to sort of do like a very romantic, beautifully written romantic scene. And we were just like peeing ourselves with laughter because you just have to look into each other’s eyes and we were like, ‘Oh God.’”
February 2024
Coughlan and Newton posed for a selfie with their Bridgerton cast members.
February 2024
The costars were photographed at a sneak peek event for season 3 of Bridgerton.
April 2024
Coughlan and Newton stepped out together at the official season 3 launch at the Milton Park Country House in Bowral, Australia. The pair sweetly held hands while walking the red carpet.
May 2024
Season 3 centered around Colin and Penelope’s evolution from friends to lovers. Even though Penelope started the season out in the search for a suitable husband, it didn’t take long for her connection with Colin to evolve instead.
