Why Nicola Coughlan Thought She’d Be Fired From Bridgerton

Some things just sound too good to be true.

When Nicola Coughlan was cast as Penelope Featherington in the TV adaptation of Julia Quinn‘s Bridgerton series, she was cautiously optimistic. “I should have been like, ‘This is amazing,'” she told The New York Times about the role. “Instead, I was like, ‘This is fishy. I don’t know about this.'”

Nicola was apprehensive because, according to NYT, “she had known plenty of actors who were hired onto prestige projects and then fired when the studio demanded a bigger name.”

In reality, showrunner Chris Van Dusen was already singing her praises to everyone involved in the project: “I’m happy to say that everyone loved her as much as I did,” Van Dusen told the paper.

Now, with one season under her belt, Nicola is more confident in her abilities—save for the romantic scenes.