Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton Hold Hands at 'Bridgerton' Season 3 Premiere in Australia

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At long last, Bridgerton season three is just around the corner.

The Netflix romance series, based on Julia Quinn's bestselling novels of the same name, is set to return next month with new leads: Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope, and Luke Newton, who plays Colin. (The third season will take its inspiration from Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the fourth book in Quinn's series.)

The global press tour for Bridgerton season three kicked off this past weekend in Australia, with Coughlan and Newton walking the red carpet together. They sweetly posed holding hands.

"We've known each other now five years and people were like, 'What did you do to build the chemistry?' And I'm like, 'Well, we just stopped repressing it, and then it was fine, we didn't have to do anything,'" Coughlan said at the premiere, per a clip shared by Elle Australia.

In seasons one and two of Bridgerton, Penelope was pining for Colin, and in the final episode of last season, she overhears him telling his friends he would never court her. "I don't think he means it in a horrible way," Newton told Town & Country around the season two premiere, "but also I think he does see her as a friend. He sees her as this best friend that he's had growing up. So he's clouded by that, and it comes out in the wrong way. He wants to say 'she's my best friend,' but he doesn't wanna play that in front of the boys." The past two seasons set up the friends-to-lovers trope that will be at the heart of season three.

For the Australian premiere, Coughlan wore a custom Richard Quinn gown, and Newton wore AMI Paris. Coughlan wrote on Instagram "A special thank you to THE Richard Quinn- I contacted him because I have been obsessed with this dress since I first saw it on the runway and dreamed of wearing it. I asked him if he and his brilliant team made it for me and they they did and it's better than I ever could’ve imagined."

Though the Australian premiere took place this past weekend, there's still a few weeks until audiences around the world will be able to tune in: Bridgerton season three, part one premieres on May 16, and part two drops on June 13.

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