Nicola Coughlan, known for her role as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton, is set to join the Doctor Who universe in the upcoming Christmas special, and the actress expressed her excitement about the opportunity. After her steamy scenes in Bridgerton, Coughlan said it’s “lovely” to be part of a more “family-friendly” show.
Speaking with The Radio Times, Coughlan shared her gratitude for what has been a whirlwind year for her. “It’s been amazing. It’s been the busiest year of my life. I think we went to eight different countries on the Bridgerton press tour – but in a really lovely way, with two shows I’m so proud of,” she said.
She added, “And it feels really nice to end the year with Doctor Who. I’m getting to sit down with my family at Christmas to watch it. Very few things I do are actually family-friendly, so it’s really lovely to have one!”
Though Coughlan is a newcomer to Doctor Who, she revealed she didn’t grow up watching the iconic sci-fi series. “In my house in Ireland, we only had the two Irish channels, no BBC, so it wasn’t in my day-to-day,” she explained.
When she was offered the role, Coughlan was eager to take on the opportunity. “When they asked me, I was super-keen. But when I tried to do the research, I thought ‘Oh my God… this is a full universe! I was kind of overwhelmed. But then I thought the thing to do would be just try to do my best acting and hopefully make the Who fans happy!”
Fans of Doctor Who are excited to see Coughlan bring her talent to the long-running show, with the Christmas special poised to be a festive treat for all ages.