Filming at Hatfield House was ‘The Favourite’ location for Olivia Colman fan and Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan.
The Netflix series, which premieres on Christmas Day, filmed in a number of spectacular historic stately homes across the UK.
Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton, found herself especially enamoured with one location in particular.
The Channel 4 Derry Girls sitcom star was keen to follow in the footsteps of Oscar-winning The Favourite actress Olivia Colman in Hatfield.
“We shot at Hatfield House, which was the house that they filmed The Favourite in,” says Coughlan.
“I did sneak upstairs because I wanted to see Olivia Colman’s room.
“I was trying to rub the walls so that her acting talent would rub onto me!”
The Irish actor got lucky when it came to learning a tricky dance at one of the majestic balls in the eight-part series.
“The dances were planned out before anyone was cast and I was thinking it was going to be a waltz or something like that, but it just so happened that the dance they had for Penelope was an Irish jig!
“It was a total coincidence. It’s called The Siege of Ennis and it’s a very famous dance that I’ve known since I was five years old.”
In Bridgerton, Claudia Jessie and Nicola Coughlan play best friends Eloise Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington.
The pair knew each other a little before working on the racy Regency era period piece from Shondaland with a modern twist.
“One of my favourite things about this story is Penelope and Eloise’s friendship,” says Coughlan.
“Claudia Jessie and I were the first two people cast.
“When I found out that Claudia was playing my best friend, I thought it was amazing because she is the most joyful person to work with.
“I think that sometimes with period dramas you think they were very stilted, but one of our historical consultants, Dr Hannah Greig, showed us portraits of them lounging and hanging around, and she told us that we had to get those antiquated ideas out of our heads, because they were real people.
“So, the scenes that I have with Claudia feel so fun and modern, and the writing is so sharp and so funny.”
• Bridgerton can bee seen on Netflix from December 25.
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