Nicola Coughlan has "no interest in body positivity" and calls comments on her size "boring"
5 March 2026, 14:59
The Penelope Bridgerton actress hits back at body size comments as she wants focus to remain on her roles.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Nicola Coughlan has pushed back against claims she should be described as 'plus-size', revealing she was a size 8–10 while filming her widely discussed nude scenes for Netflix hit Bridgerton.
The Irish actress, 39, also said she finds the ongoing conversation about her body deeply frustrating, admitting she has little interest in being associated with body positivity campaigns.
Appearing on the cover of the April issue of ELLE UK, Nicola explained she had actually slimmed down before filming the intimate scenes that went viral during the third season of Bridgerton.
She said: “The thing I say sometimes that p****s people off is I have no interest in body positivity.”
Explaining her perspective, she added: “When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didn't look at actors and think about their bodies. So, I actually don't care.”
Nicola also reflected on the reaction to her appearance in the series, revealing that she had been exercising regularly before filming and had lost weight in preparation for the physically demanding scenes.
- READ MORE: One Tree Hill cast then and now as show debuts on Netflix
- READ MORE: Harry Styles confirms exciting Netflix Special to air in just days
She said: “You know what was really bizarre was, when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight – I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size eight.”
Despite that, the actress was surprised to see her described as plus-sized by some viewers.
She added: “And then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, ‘How f****d are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?’”
The star admitted that public attention on her body has sometimes overshadowed the months of work that go into bringing her characters to life.
Recalling an awkward encounter with a fan, she said: “I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, ‘I loved [Bridgerton] because of your body.’ And 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 f*g boring.”
Polin Carriage Scene | Bridgerton | Netflix Philippines
Nicola first found widespread fame starring in Derry Girls before landing her breakout role in Bridgerton, and she has previously admitted she was determined not to become typecast after the sitcom’s huge success.
Meanwhile, the star is currently appearing on stage in a revival of The Playboy of the Western World at National Theatre alongside her former Derry Girls co-star Siobhán McSweeney.
READ MORE:
- Josie Gibson shows off incredible five-stone weight loss after revealing health condition
- Robbie Williams breaks silence on Take That Netflix documentary and says he’s "full of shame"
- Why The Janitor will be missing from the Scrubs reboot
