The GIRL next door

LUKE NEWTON and NICOLA COUGHLAN on taking centre stage as the smash-hit saga returns

- SEAN MARLAND

BRIDGERTON NEW FROM THURSDAY 16 MAY, NETFLIX DRAMA

Prepare to be beguiled and bedazzled by another tale of Regency-era romance as we return to the lavish world of Netflix drama Bridgerton. Set within the higher echelons of London society in the early 1800s, the global hit show’s first two seasons told the stories of how Bridgerton siblings Daphne (played by Phoebe Dynevor) and Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) found love with their respective partners, Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).

Now, the much-anticipated third, eight-part outing – which launches with four episodes this week and another quartet released on 13 June – will turn the spotlight on the friends-tolovers relationship between their brother Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), the third eldest of the family’s children, and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), AKA infamous tattler Lady Whistledown, who has long held a torch for him.

TV Times caught up with Nicola, 37, and Luke, 31, to find out about them being the talk of the ton…

So, where do we find Colin and Penelope at the start of the new series?