Nicola Coughlan 'heartbroken' to miss Bridgerton premiere due to Covid

The Galway native, who plays socialite Penelope Featherington in the Netflix period drama, was due to attend Tuesday night’s premiere with her castmates before the show returned for Season 2 this Friday.

Unfortunately, Nicola had to miss out on the event after catching the coronavirus but didn’t let that stop her from having a bit of fun on the night.

The Derry Girls star took to Instagram to show off her “infectious virus but make it fashion” look from the comfort of her own home.

She shared a photo of herself posing in a white fluffy dressing gown and matching towel on her head paired with a glamorous face of Pat McGrath makeup complete with a bold red lip.

The 35-year-old topped off the look with some scarlet red nails to match her lipstick and a statement necklace from global jewellery brand Tasaki.

Captioning the post, she wrote: “My Bridgerton Premiere look- a little different than expected

“So I’ve been struck down with Miss Rona and I’m missing our first premiere- heartbroken is an understatement but sending so much love to my gorgeous cast mates who I hope have the best night.”

Bridgerton became one of Netflix’s biggest shows ever when it was first released on the streaming service on Christmas Day 2020, and fans have been eagerly awaiting their chance to get their fix from ton gossip Lady Whistledown ever since.

Nicola previously teased what’s in store for her character, who was unveiled as the infamous Lady Whistledown at the end of Season one, in Bridgerton’s highly anticipated second season.

Speaking on Claudia Winkleman’s BBC Radio 2 show last month, she said: “[After] that reveal at the end of series one, you very much get to see behind the curtain in series two.

“We see how she gets away with the things that she gets away with. And for me, it was so much fun because in series one she’s a shy, retiring wallflower, and then series two you go, ‘Oh, she’s got all this new stuff going on’, and it was extremely fun to film.”