'Bridgerton' actor Luke Newton's relationship co-star with Nicola Coughlan - plus his 'Love Island' connection

The eagerly-anticipated ‘Bridgerton’ series 3 is almost here - and in this series the romance of Penelope Featherington and her best friend turned lover Colin Bridgerton.

Luke Newton plays Colin, the youngest Bridgerton brother, whie ‘Derry Girls’ and ‘Barbie’ actress Nicola Coughlan plays Penelope - who is also author of scandal paper Lady Whistledown.

Coughlan, aged 37, has already spoken out about filming the sex scenes for the show - and has also revealed that she is given a parent-friendly version of the show with those steamy shots cut. When asked in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK earlier this year how she felt about filming sex scenes, Coughlan noted that she and Newton have appeared on the show since season one, which aired in 2020, and so they had “the advantage of knowing each other for years.” She did, however, reveal that while filming one of the season’s more intense scenes, she and Newton “did break a piece of furniture.”

But, now fans are questioning if the on-screen chemistry between the pair could have moved off-screen. During an iterview with Extra at the series premiere in New York earlier this week, however, Coughlan gave the truth of her relationship with Newton.

When asked about the dating rumours, she said: "We think it’s really sweet, I think because we truly love each other. He is a really special person in my life, and I got to do this experience with him. I’ll never get to do something like this again, on this scale. It’s so nice having such a lovely friend that I can do all this with.”

According to reports, Newton, age 31, who has also starred in ‘Mr Selfridge’, and ‘The Lodge’ is single. His most recent public relationship was with West End performer Jade Davies, who is the sister is former ‘Love Island’ winner Amber Davies. The pair were together for around five years before they split last year. They were said to have grown apart, and Newton was left devastated by the break-up.

Jade made a name for herself after appearing as part of West End supergroup The Welsh of the West End, and the group wowed ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judges when they appeared on the show 2022. She has also starred in productions of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ and ‘Phantom Of The Opera’. Newton was said to have signed up for celebrity dating app Raya following the end of his relationship.

Meanwhile, Coughlan and fellow actor Laurie Kynaston, who appeared in Season 2 of ‘Derry Girls’, were rumored to be dating in 2021, but they were said to have broken up due to their career commitments. Coughlan and Kynaston have not confirmed or denied these dating rumors. Coughlan has kept her personal live private and it is not known if she is dating anyone right now.

’Bridgerton’ returns for a third season on Netflix on May 16 with the first four episodes. After a mid-season break, the last four installments of season three then premiere on the streaming platform on June 13.