We now know his as Colin in Bridgerton, but Luke Newton has come a very long way from before he landed the role in the Netflix smash hit show. He’s opened up about how much being part of the Regency era series has changed his life, in a recent interview.

Luke Newton appeared on Lorraine on ITV, and said he was living on a mate’s sofa and working in a bar before he got the job on Bridgerton at Netflix. “When I booked the job I was living on my mate’s sofa bed and I was working in a bar, and I actually drove past the bar the other week,” he said. “It’s so crazy how in three years your life can change.”

He reflected on how much being on the show has changed his life, and how he could never have imagined how successful it was going to be when season one was released in December 2020. He said: “We knew that having Shondaland [Shonda Rhimes’ production company] and Netflix teaming up together for the first time we were really excited about it, but I don’t think anything can prepare you for what happened on Christmas Day that year.”

Soon, Bridgerton had been viewed by over 82million households and was one the most successful original series on Netflix to date. Luke said promoting season two was very different from how his life was back then. “It was so different celebrating the two different years,” he said. “Compared to this year being on the red carpet, I was doing press from my nan’s spare room [for the first series], which actually was as special to me.”

But now, Luke is so well-known he says people even stop in coffee shops to see what he orders. “I was actually in a coffee shop the other day and I could hear people saying, ‘I wonder what he orders’ and my coffee order is so boring you really don’t,” he joked.

During the interview, Lorraine came back in support of Luke, telling him his success was “obviously” due to his ability. She said: “Sometimes it’s luck, and sometimes the stars align in the right place at the right time.” Colin’s story takes centre stage in the fourth book of the series, called Romancing Mr Bridgerton. So, Luke’s success is only going up!