Nicola Coughlan Drops Details About Her Upcoming ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Sex Scenes

Actress Nicola Coughlan is getting ready to take center stage in the upcoming season of “Bridgerton.”

The Netflix period drama is based on the book series by Julia Quinn. So far, the TV series and the book series have been in sync. The first and second seasons both followed the love stories of their respective Bridgerton protagonists. The first season focused on the love story of Daphne Bridgerton, the eldest Bridgerton daughter. The second season focused on Anthony Bridgerton, head of the Bridgerton household.

The third season was supposed to focus on Benedict Bridgerton, whose love story is featured in the third book “Romancing Mister Bridgerton.” That being said, the “Derry Girls” star revealed that she and Luke Newton, who plays Colin Bridgerton, will be the stars of the next season.

Nicola Coughlan Reveals Penelope Featherington Will Be The Star Of ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3

According to Deadline, Netflix’s FYSEE Space’s opening night ATAS panel on Sunday night dropped some big news about the third season. Nicola Coughlan, who plays both Penelope Featherington and her alter ego Lady Whistledown, revealed that she will be the love interest for the series’ third season.

“Like Lady Whistledown, I have been keeping a secret for quite some time and I can confirm to you all that season 3 is Colin and Penelope’s love story,” Coughlan revealed. “I have kept that secret since two weeks into season 2. This is the first time I am saying it here.”

While some fans were shocked to hear the news, this isn’t the first time that the show has made a major season from the book series it is based on. Fans learned that Penelope was really Lady Whistledown at the end of the first season. Fans of the book series don’t find that out until the fourth book, which explores her relationship with Colin and their eventual love match.

Penelope Featherington & Colin Bridgerton Are In ForSome Steamy Scenes!

Coughlan sat down with PEOPLE to discuss the steamy scenes that the Netflix series has become known for.

“People I think have a little more time to wait before she gets into that,” Coughlan told the publication just before season 2 premiered in March. “I can safely say that she’s still very much the wallflower. She is in business lady mode.”

However, it looks like her time has come to take center stage. On Monday, Coughlan appeared on E! News Daily Pop to answer questions about her upcoming love scenes. When asked if she was ready for her intimate scenes, the “Harlots” replied, “I’m gonna have to be!”

Although she said that it was “terrifying” to become the romantic lead of the season, she admits that she’s “known for a really long time” that her friendship with Colin would eventually bloom into something more.

Coughlan admitted that she first learned that she would be the season 3 lead “like two weeks into filming season two, so I had a lot of time to adjust to it.”

However, that didn’t mean she was prepared to break the news. “But then, [Sunday] night, when they were like, ‘The news is coming out. You can talk about it,’ I was like, ‘I don’t want to. I’m too scared.’ When I say it out [loud], it makes it real.”

However, it remains to be seen how their relationship will actually play out on-screen. At the end of season 2, Penelope heard Colin tell a group of eligible bachelors in the ton that he would “never dream of courting” her. In addition, Penelope had a major falling out with Colin’s sister, Eloise, after she found out that Penelope was really Lady Whistledown.

Although Penelope briefly gave up her alter ego, she embraced her just in time for the season finale, which raises a lot of questions about whether or not Lady Whistledown, a trademark of the series, will continue into future seasons.

Production of season 3 of “Bridgerton” is expected to start in London this summer.