Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan Spotted Cozying Up With Renegade Nell Star Jake Dunn at Music Festival

Nicola Coughlan, the beloved actress from the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, has sparked romance rumors after being spotted with actor Jake Dunn at the All Points East festival in London. The actress, known for her role as Penelope Featherington, was seen getting cozy with Jake, who stars in the Disney+ series Renegade Nell.

The pair attended the festival together, watching Mitski headline, and were photographed together, fueling speculation about their relationship. Nicola wore a white mini dress and studded ankle boots, while Jake opted for a casual look with an open shirt and black linen trousers.

According to eyewitnesses, the pair blended in with the crowd, but their closeness and affectionate gestures did not go unnoticed. This is not the first time the pair have been spotted together. They were also seen at the premiere of Renegade Nell in March, where Nicola posed for a selfie with Jake and his co-star Alice Kremelberg. Jake also spotted at the premeire of Bridgerton.

Nicola was also spotted enjoying a game of Scrabble at a pub in London on July 20th, with a male companion who bears a striking resemblance to Jake.

For the unversed, the All Points East festival seems to be the go-to place for celebrities to confirm their romances.

Just last week, Normal People star Paul Mescal went public with his singer girlfriend Gracie Abrams at the same event.

While not much is known about Dunn’s background, we know that he is British and from Nottingham, per his profile on the Guildhall School of Music and Drama website indicating that his natural accent is “London/Nottingham” along with several voice reels. He is quickly making a name for himself as an actor. He joined the cast of The Internet Explorers TV show in 2017 for three episodes, then went on to nab roles on Netflix’s Get Even and The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself, according to IMDb, as well as BBC’s Rebel Cheer Squad: A Get Even Series, sitcom Big Boys and most recently, Renegade Nell. The latter production – which also stars Ted Lasso’s Nick Mohammed and Joely Richardson – is set in 18th-century England, not too long before Bridgerton’s Regency-inspired period drama.

In a 2022 interview with the Lancashire Telegraph in which he discussed playing Billy Casper in a new version of Kes at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre, he also talked about how he nevertheless had to train to put on a Yorkshire accent. “We have had a great dialect coach and every day I have repeatedly been saying the months of the year in a Yorkshire accent which has been my way into it,” he told the publication. “Being from Nottingham I do say ‘bath’ not ‘barth’ anyway so that’s halfway there!”

Per his profile on the institution’s website, Dunn was part of Guildhall School’s drama department and graduated in 2021/2022. He took part in various projects while he was studying at the London-based music and drama school including Betsy’s husband in Anna Karenina and Cassius in Julius Caesar. The 185cm tall Dunn has a number of additional talents too. As seen on his profile on the GSMD website, his skills include having a good ear for accents, show dancing and stage combat.

His first professional theatre role was the aforementioned Kes at the Bolton Octagon, which follows the story of a young working class boy and his pet kestrel. Dunn revealed to the Lancashire Telegraph that he wasn’t a huge fan of working with animals. “I did a play with a dog in it and that was stressful enough. The thing is whenever you get an animal on stage, the audience doesn’t care what the actors are doing and you suspect that everyone is waiting for that animal to misbehave. So I hope it won’t put anyone off from buying a ticket, but there isn’t a real life kestrel in this version of Kes,” he joked. Preparing for the role did turn him into a bird lover though: “I didn’t know anything about birds; I wasn’t interested in them,” he said in the same interview. “Then before rehearsals started I spent an afternoon with a falconer and I’ve become obsessed with birds – I think they are incredible creatures.”

While everyone would love to see Penelope and Colin's love story spill over into real life it seems highly unlikely that will happen. While Nicola has even gone as far as to admit that she and Luke love one another it seems that they are and will forever remain just good friends. Nicola told Extra at the Bridgerton premiere: “We think it’s really sweet, I think because we truly love each other, you know what I mean? 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. Like are you kidding me? Like, we’re here in New York City, having our premiere. So it’s so nice having such a lovely friend that I can do all this with.”

She also admitted how doing so much kissing was made far easier by their friendship. Nicola told SiriusXM in April: “We would be like, in between scenes, and they were like, ‘Do you wanna get up and put your clothes on?’ We’re like, ‘We’ll just chill here.’ Like, in under the blankets. But then we have the advantage of knowing each other for years.”

Plus it appears that Nicola is currently single after she told Marie Claire how she sees dating now vs dating in the regency era. She said: “I think nowadays they smell better. That’s what I always think about the past…we think of it as so romantic and lovely, but then there was no personal hygiene. It’s good because we have a choice now, but then there’s that thing of the paradox of choice. We have too much choice, it’s not good. So, there’s probably good and bad things for both.”

Nicola reportedly had a romance with her Derry Girls co-star Laurie who appeared in one episode of the show. He was cast as a Protestant student who her character Clare ended up paired with on a cultural exchange day. They never confirmed the rumors but they did share a few photos together on social media where they looked very cosy and GalwayBeo eventually claimed they had split up “to focus on their acting careers.”

So who has Coughlan dated IRL? According to Elle, she is believed to have previously dated Derry Girls’ Laurie Kynaston. The pair, who were both on the show, never officially confirmed the romance, but were spotted together several times. She also dated someone who may have been a film producer, but this was never confirmed.

Though not much is known about Dunn’s background, we know that he is British and from Nottingham, per his profile on the Guildhall School of Music and Drama website indicating that his natural accent is “London/Nottingham” along with several voice reels.

Dunn is quickly making a name for himself as an actor. He joined the cast of The Internet Explorers TV show in 2017 for three episodes, then went on to nab roles on Netflix’s Get Even and The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself, according to IMDb, as well as BBC’s Rebel Cheer Squad: A Get Even Series, sitcom Big Boys and most recently, Renegade Nell. The latter production – which also stars Ted Lasso’s Nick Mohammed and Joely Richardson – is set in 18th-century England, not too long before Bridgerton’s Regency-inspired period drama.

The 185cm tall Dunn has a number of additional talents too. As seen on his profile on the GSMD website, his skills include having a good ear for accents, show dancing and stage combat.

The pair, who were both on the show, never officially confirmed the romance, but were spotted together several times. She also dated someone who may have been a film producer, but this was never confirmed.