‘Bridgerton’ Star Nicola Coughlan Says ‘Simon Needs Therapy’

'Bridgerton' fans may be swooning over Regé-Jean Page and his performance as Simon Basset, but even Nicola Coughlan (Penelope Featherington) thinks the Duke of Hastings "needs therapy."

by Mandi Kerr

Published on January 9, 2021

3 min read

Simon Hastings and Daphne Bridgerton disagreed on marriage

During a December 2020 interview with Variety, Coughlan discussed Simon and Daphne’s relationship. Specifically, the friction between them over the idea of marriage and later, having children.

Initially, Simon doesn’t want to get married. However, he and Daphne eventually become husband and wife. Then comes talk of starting a family. Having children is something Daphne wants and it causes tension between her and Simon.

As Coughlan said in the interview, Bridgerton Season 1 is a journey for Daphne but that ultimately, Simon should work on his own issues.

“In Daphne and Simon’s relationship, she’s a complete innocent going into this, with the awakening of her sexual desire, and with him being more worldly than her, there is a power imbalance,” Coughlan said. “But I think, with all those things, the show is better for it because you’re not presenting these cookie-cutter Disney princes and princesses.”

“They’re very flawed humans,” she added. “You have to welcome all discourse on it because it’s all relevant. People are going to feel what they’re going to feel. But do I feel like Simon needs therapy? Yes.”

Nicola Coughlan says ‘constraints of society’ have to be considered

Continuing the conversation about how the series depicts Simon and Daphne’s relationship, Coughlan admitted she even had a tough time reading scripts.

“It’s difficult because with all these characters, when you read a script, you come to it first with your perspective and the time in which you live and how these things would apply,” she said. “But these women, at the time, were like property. They had no agency of their own. Daphne is her family’s best prospect to make money, in a way.”

Nicola Coughlan attends a 'Derry Girls' photocall during the 2019 BFI and Radio Times TV Festival — Nicola Coughlan attends a *Derry Girls* photocall during the 2019 BFI and Radio Times TV Festival | Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

“You have to think about all the constraints of society at the time and how much the patriarchy was screwing everyone over,” she added. “It’s very obvious what it did to women, but even characters like Anthony Bridgerton, he doesn’t live up to the masculine and patriarchal ideal of being the head of the family.”

So while viewers may take issue with certain aspects of Bridgerton, it is set in the 1800s, and the storylines reflect issues of the time.

Netflix hasn’t confirmed ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2

Technically, Bridgerton Season 2 isn’t official. Neither Netflix nor Rhimes’ production company, Shondaland, have made an official announcement about more episodes.

However, the way the show left off suggests a second season is forthcoming. Plus, there’s plenty of material left to explore. Julia Quinn, the author of the books that inspired Bridgerton, has eight novels about the Bridgerton family.

For now, fans of the TV show will have to read Quinn’s books or watch Bridgerton Season 1 again.