Penelope Featherington and Eloise Bridgerton’s friend fallout was hard for viewers to watch, but even harder for the actresses who played them to act.
In an exclusive interview with E! News, Nicola Coughlan, who plays the youngest Featherington daughter, revealed that filming Bridgerton’s season two fight scene with on- and off-screen best friend Claudia Jessie (a.k.a Miss Bridgerton) was “really harrowing.” According to Coughlan, who is a self-proclaimed fan of Eloise and Penelope’s friendship, she is hoping for a reconciliation between the pair in season three.
“Friendship breakups are just so horrendous,” she said of the shocking season two moment. “To film that scene was really harrowing and actually like, made me feel sick to my stomach.”
Apparently, Coughlan was “super nervous” ahead of filming this scene, which resulted in her and Jessie “really crying” while acting out the fight. She recalled, “It was just awful.
And while this drama was a surprise for viewers, Coughlan said that she and Jessie suspected something was amiss for the friends early on in production. “We had an inkling that this was going to happen from the first couple of episodes,” she explained. “Because there was one line, where Penelope says to Eloise, ‘You cannot lie to me!’ And I went, ‘Why is she saying that?’ And I sort of questioned it and [the writers] said ‘No, please say it. It’s important because of later on.’ And we both went, ‘Oh, no. Oh, no. This is bad.'”
Penelope, who was revealed to be Lady Whistledown at the end of season one, was confronted by her best friend in the season two finale, as Eloise had learned the truth about her pal’s secret business. Not only was Eloise hurt that Penelope exposed her friendship with printer’s assistant Theo Sharpe, but the Bridgerton was also frustrated that her dearest friend lied to her for so long.
On what’s next for the young Miss Featherington, Coughlan speculated, “I think Penelope is gonna have to learn she can’t lie to the people that she loves.”
E! News
Written by Alyssa Ray
Published April 5, 2022
