Bridgerton returns for its third season in the coming weeks with Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton leading the cast for the latest instalment of the beloved Netflix show

Nicola Coughlan has described filming intimate scenes for the new series of Bridgerton as “terrifying” but “liberating,” as well as teasing that there’s “a lot of romcom elements”.

The Netflix show returns for its upcoming third season later this year, with the first four episodes due to be released on May 16. The remaining four will be available on the streaming platform the following month from June 13.

The season will be led by Nicola, 37, and co-star Luke Newton, 31, who play Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton respectively. Fans are hoping that there will be a romance between the two characters on the show.

Discussing the season a few months ago, Nicola – who rose to fame on Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls – shared on the Six O’Clock Show that she “can’t wait” for the episodes to be released. She said: “I’m so excited. I honestly can’t wait.”

She teased on the Virgin Media One show: “This season is really funny [and] really romantic. They’ve incorporated a lot of romcom elements. And y’know, it’s again not one to watch with the family but you can take from that what you will.”

Co-host Gráinne Seoige went on to ask about filming intimate scenes for the role. She asked Nicola: “Every season focuses on a couple and now it’s your turn with Colin for the bodice ripping. How did it feel getting into that?”

Nicola replied: “Terrifying. I mean, look, I’m an Irish woman. Any Irish woman would feel half mortified and go ‘I can’t do this, I can’t’. And then I went well ‘it’s my job so I better get used to it’. But I had a great partner in it, and it was terrifying, but also really liberating. I honestly loved every second. I was exhausted by the end but honestly had the best time.”

She described working on the new series as “one of the best experiences” and said that co-star Luke is “wonderful”. Nicola further commented: “And they upgraded my wig as you can see [from photos], and that was a real delight.”

Bridgerton, which debuted in 2020, is based on the book series of the same name by author Julia Quinn. The third season is believed to be based on the fourth novel in the series, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, which was published in 2002.

A synopsis for the book teases: “After half a lifetime of watching [Colin] from afar, [Penelope] thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret… and fears she doesn’t know him at all.”

Netflix has reminded ahead of the show’s return that the second season saw Penelope “heartbroken” after she overheard Colin suggest that he wouldn’t court her. The character also had a falling out with her best friend Eloise Bridgerton (played by Claudia Jessie), which “won’t help her mood either”.

Nicola teased at the Tudum: A Global Fan Event last year: “We open our season with the ton’s return from the countryside… Both Colin and Pen have done some growing up. And only time will tell how their friendship will develop.”