Dear Reader, Nicola Coughlan isn't afraid to bare it all.
The Bridgerton star—who plays Penelope Featherington in the Netflix series—explained why she felt empowered to be nude during her sex scenes with costar Luke Newton (Colin Bridgerton) in the third season.
"I specifically asked for certain lines and moments to be included," Nicola told Stylist in a recent interview, per People. "There's one scene where I'm very naked on camera, and that was my idea, my choice."
As for why she made the request in the first place? She wanted to ruffle some feathers.
"It just felt like the biggest 'f--k you' to all the conversation surrounding my body," she said. "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--king hot I looked!'"
And there's nothing sexier than controlling the narrative. After all, the 37-year-old is more than satisfied with the nudity in Bridgerton, adding, "Not only did I consent to it but I drove it."
Plus, it helps that Nicola and Luke had off-the-charts chemistry before they stripped down to their birthday suits. She told E! News' Francesca Amiker earlier this month, "We had a certain physical comfort level with each other which helps immensely."
Luke, 31, couldn't have agreed more.
"It was natural," he explained. "We didn't have to do anything to ignite that. It was kind of like these characters had got there over a long period of time—they talk of Colin and Pen as the slow burn romance—but really when we got there..."
"We just went for it," Nicola added. "We had to kind of hold back on the chemistry for the first two seasons. And then it was like when we were ready to unleash it, we were like, 'Here you go!'"
The first half of Bridgerton's new season premieres May 16, with the last four episodes releasing June 13. But before Nicola and Luke turn up the heat, keep reading to find out the other sizzling details of season 3.