Nicola Coughlan

The Bridgerton actress was left mortified by a TRIPLE wardrobe malfunction so bad she feared bosses would think she was drunk.

She said: "I just told all my friends and family and they were all fuming with me, and they were like 'it really ruined the end of it because we just knew'." I said 'yes, absolutely'." While most stars keep spoilers under their hats, Nicola told her nearest and dearest that Penelope was the mysterious Lady Whistledown before it was revealed at the end of the first season.

Coughlan talks about the weird side of fame (“or whatever you want to call it”), “Derry Girls,” and Penelope's journey in season two of “Bridgerton.”

I filmed the final scene of Bridgerton, and we wrapped at like 5 a.m. on a Friday. I went home, packed, flew on the Saturday, and arrived in Belfast. On Sunday, I was in wig and costume fittings, and on Monday, I was on set. And I just kept going, “What if I have no idea what to do?!” But I didn’t really have enough time to freak out about it. They are like my children; I really care for them both, and I want to give them both attention! And actually, that is a weird twist of circumstances because the third season was delayed in production for three years. I’m still the same person, but then sometimes there’s someone who doesn’t know me that well who suddenly really wants to hang out, and I’m like, “You did not care about me before! So, I’ll look a bit more refined and a bit more myself.” You really do see her progression to becoming a young woman. She’s so reserved and quiet on the outside, but she has all these voices in her head, she remembers everything, and she can be so witty in her writing even as she struggles to do it in person. But you can’t take in the enormity of it when you’re on set and there to do your job. NICOLA COUGHLAN: She’s in a weird position in that when we see her at the very beginning of the show, you might think that she’s the same girl that we met last season. In the opening scene, even, you see a whole other side to her that you’ve never seen before, and you find out how she’s getting away with what she’s getting away with. She’s careful about what she posts on social media in a way she didn’t have to be before, and she really does want to use her platform for good. I always say, if I am going to play a gymnast, that will require me to change my body completely.