‘Bridgerton’ star Simone Ashley defends Nicola Coughlan from body-shaming ‘haters’

nypost.com:

historical romance novels by Julia Quinn, follows a different member of the Bridgerton family as they fall in love in Regency-era England.

Season 2 followed Kate’s romance with Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey). Characters Kate and Jonathan both returned for Season 3, as they watched Jonathan’s brother, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), take center stage and find love with Penelope Featherington (Coughlan).

Coughlan has previously spoken out about how she requested more nude scenes, in order to combat body-shamers. “I specifically asked for certain lines and moments to be included,” Coughlan told Stylist magazine in an interview published in May. “There’s one scene where I’m very naked on camera, and that was my idea, my choice.”She continued: “It just felt like the biggest ‘f – – k you’ to all the conversation surrounding my body; it was amazingly empowering.

I felt beautiful in the moment, and I thought: ‘When I’m 80, I want to look back on this and remember how f – – ing hot I looked!’”Coughlan previously addressed body-shamers in a now-deleted Instagram post in 2022.“If you have an opinion about my body please, please don’t share it with me,” she told fans, alongside a selfie.“Most people are being nice and not trying to be offensive but I am just one real life human being and it’s really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day,” Coughlan added.“If you have an opinion about me that’s OK, I understand I’m on TV and that people will have things to think and say, but I beg you not to send it to me directly.”Ashley continued defending her on-screen sister-in-law. “I think Nicola is just absolutely flying,” Ashley said.