Nicola Coughlan has opened up about an uncomfortable encounter with a drunk fan who began commenting on her body while speaking to her in a bathroom, an experience the actress says left her feeling deeply embarrassed and frustrated.
Speaking in an interview with Elle UK, the actress recalled the awkward moment with a mixture of disbelief and irritation.
“I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, ‘I loved it because of your body,’” Coughlan said, referring to the popular Netflix series Bridgerton.
She explained that the fan continued to focus on her physical appearance, which made the situation even more uncomfortable.
“And she started talking about my body, and I was like, ‘I want to die. I hate this so much.’ It’s really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life, you don’t see your family, you really dedicate yourself and then it comes down to what you look like. It’s so boring,” she said.
Coughlan, who plays the character Penelope Featherington in the series, said the incident reflects a wider issue she has experienced during her time on the show — the constant public discussion about women’s bodies.
Frustration Over Body Discussions
The actress also reflected on the unrealistic expectations placed on women in the entertainment industry. During the filming of the third season of Bridgerton, which focused on Penelope’s romantic storyline with Colin Bridgerton, Coughlan said she had been exercising frequently and had lost weight.
Despite that, she was still labelled “plus-size” in some public conversations.
“I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size 8,” she explained.
“And then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, ‘How messed up are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?’”
Her comments highlight the broader societal pressures faced by actresses regarding body image and public perception.
Speaking Out Against Body Shaming
This is not the first time Coughlan has addressed the issue. In 2022, she directly responded to people commenting on her appearance through a post on Instagram.
In the post, she urged people to stop sending opinions about her body.
“If you have an opinion about my body please, please don’t share it with me,” she wrote. “It’s really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day.”
A Personal Act of Defiance
During the production of the third season of Bridgerton, Coughlan said she also made a deliberate creative decision that she described as an act of defiance against constant criticism.
In a previous interview with Stylist in 2024, she revealed that she chose to film a scene that showed her body more openly on camera.
“There’s one scene where I’m very open on camera, and that was my idea, my choice,” she said.
To ensure the scene was handled respectfully and comfortably, she worked closely with the show’s intimacy coordinator, Lizzy Talbot.
Continued Success of Bridgerton
Despite the challenges of public scrutiny, Bridgerton continues to be one of Netflix’s most successful shows. The series recently released its fourth season on Netflix, maintaining its global popularity.
Coughlan’s comments highlight the ongoing conversation about body image, celebrity culture, and the pressure faced by actresses in the entertainment industry, reminding audiences that behind the glamour of television fame are real people navigating intense public attention.
