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Best mates Nicola Coughlan and Jonathan Van Ness have weekly lockdown quizzes

Photo credit: Nicola Coughlan - Instagram
Photo credit: Nicola Coughlan - Instagram

From Cosmopolitan

I'm going to hazard a guess that you, like the rest of us, are a bit obsessed with Nicola Coughlan. And who can blame you? Not only does she play Clare in Derry Girls, but she also stars as the iconic Penelope Featherington in the Netflix smash hit, Bridgerton (she's one half of our favourite TV pairing, Peneloise). And if all that weren't enough did we mention she's best mates with Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness?

The dreamy duo even have weekly lockdown quizzes which - Nicola revealed during a recent interview with Cosmopolitan - often involve fancy dress.

"He’s one of my favourite people in the world," Nicola said of Jonathan Van Ness. "During lockdown he and I had a weekly quiz with some of our friends and family and we did a different theme each week. I did noughties and dressed up as Avril Lavigne and he did one about ice skating which nobody did well at except for Jonathan..."

Here's everything else Nicola chatted about, including boob pillows, her robot hoover that eats everything and what Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes is really like.

What’s your on-set personality?

I’m the napper. So whenever they can’t find me they just know I’m asleep in the trailer. After Harlots and Bridgerton I’ve even learned to nap in a corset… your boobs create quite a nice shelf to rest on too.

What three things can you not live without?

I recently got this Shiatsu back massager that you wear over your shoulders like a shrug and I’m obsessed with it, nobody can make me stop talking about it. Also my robot hoover - even though it did once eat my bra - and eyelash curling kits.

What are you reading at the moment?

Cheer the F**k Up by Jack Rooke. It’s really funny and practical and it deals with mental health in a non-patronising, refreshing way.

If you and JVN had talkshow together what would it be called?

'A Mile A Minute', because we both speak so fast.

What’s your favourite Derry Girls Moment?

There’s a scene at the end of series 1 where we’re all dancing together. It was before the show had gone out, we weren’t known actors and we had no idea what the world would make of it. We got so close over the Summer that we shot it… and that scene is so joyful and celebratory it makes me cry every time.

What annoys you?

People with bad plane etiquette... People who fart on planes or take their shoes off, that’s terrible behaviour. It drives me mad. I’m like, this is not your house.

What's Shonda Rhimes like in real life?

She’s amazing; a powerhouse of intelligence. Years ago I was having quite a low point when I read her book The Year of Yes and she is so inspiring and front-footed and the book really helped me. So, when I first met her I panicked and held her hands and kept thinking “Do I let go?... when’s the right time to let go?”

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