Nicola Coughlan teases steamy look at Bridgerton season three with spoiler photos

The actress plays Penelope Featherington on the hit Netflix series - and season three will explore her blossoming romance with Colin Bridgerton - played by Luke Newton

Nicola Coughlan has whipped Bridgerton fans into a frenzy of excitement as she has teased the upcoming new season of the hit Netflix show.

The 36-year-old Irish actress plays Penelope Featherington, and also voices the Lady Whistledown character, on the hit period drama. The upcoming third season will focus on her character and her blossoming romance with Colin Bridgerton, played by 30-year-old British actor Luke Newton.

And on Boxing Day, Nicola gave to her fans and followers something of a late Christmas gift as she uploaded a string of promotional images from the upcoming new season.

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Shots from the new episodes showed Penelope and Colin standing close together while dressed in evening wear and holding champagne glasses. While other shots showed members of the titular Bridgerton family and one snap of Colin looking noticeably brooding.

The images were teased by the actress via Instagram alongside a very simple message that stated: “Season 3” - alongside a fountain pen emoji and a mirror emoji. The shots had the desired effect as fans swiftly lost their minds over the imagery and rushed to comment about the cache of images.

One excited fan responded to the images, writing: “I’m exploding with anxiety.” Another wrote simply that they were “so excited” for the new episodes. While another typed: “I’m beyond ready for this.” And many others expressed their excitement at the fact Nicola’s character would be the main focus of the season.

Fans still have almost six months to wait for the episodes to start streaming on Netflix, however - as the release date is set for Thursday 16 May 2024. And fans won’t even get the full batch of episodes, as the season three is being split in half, with the second collection of episodes not scheduled to drop until Thursday 13 June 2024.

Nicola and Colin’s characters have already been flirting through the first two seasons of the show and they are glad the pair will now be stepping up a gear for season three. Luke said in an interview earlier this year: “I feel like if you see Penelope fawning over this boy for another season, you’ll be like, ‘Get it together! Come on, move on and get over it.’… I think people are going to be really obsessed. I think book fans are going to be happy.”

A synopsis from Netflix for the season has teased plenty of drama ahead, revealing: Penelope has finally given up on her long-held crush on Colin after hearing his disparaging words about her last season. She has, however, decided it’s time to take a husband, preferably one who will provide her with enough independence to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown, far away from her mother and sisters. But lacking in confidence, Penelope’s attempts on the marriage mart fail spectacularly.

“Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his summer travels with a new look and a serious sense of swagger. But he’s disheartened to realise that Penelope, the one person who always appreciated him as he was, is giving him the cold shoulder. Eager to win back her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence to help her find a husband this season.

"But when his lessons start working a little too well, Colin must grapple with whether his feelings for Penelope are truly just friendly. Complicating matters for Penelope is her rift with Eloise, who has found a new friend in a very unlikely place, while Penelope’s growing presence in the Ton makes it all the more difficult to keep her Lady Whistledown alter ego a secret.”

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