Nicola Coughlan hits back at 'plus size' label and says she was a size 8-10 in Bridgerton nude scenes as she brands the furore over her figure 'so boring'

has hit back at assumptions that she is 'plus-sized' as she revealed she was a size 8-10 during her nude scenes.

The actress, 39, has declared that despite featuring in such scenes she has 'no interest' in promoting body positivity and finds any criticism or furore around her figure 'boring.'

Posting on the cover of ELLE UK's April edition, Nicola shared she'd 'lost a bunch of weight' before filming her viral nude moment in Bridgerton's third series.

She added that in the past she's 'hated' speaking to fans who wanted to praise her figure as she feels it dilutes the value of the work she's put into the role.

Nicola said: 'The thing I say sometimes that p****s people off is I have no interest in body positivity. 

'When I was a kid growing up, I never thought about that. I didn't look at actors and think about their bodies. So, I actually don't care. 

'There's a lot of things I'm passionate about, it's not one of them… That's someone else's thing. It's not mine.' 

Reflecting on comments about her figure on the show, she added: 'You know what was really bizarre was, when I was shooting that series, I was exercising a lot because I knew I had to, so I had lost a bunch of weight – I was probably a size 10 and one of the corsets was a size eight.

'And then people talked about how I was plus size and I was like, ''How f****d are we that I am the biggest woman you want to see on screen?'''

'I remember this really drunk girl once talking to me in a bathroom being like, ''I loved [Bridgerton] because of your body.'' And started talking about my body, and I was like, ''I want to die. I hate this so much…'' 

'It's really hard when you work on something for months and months of your life, you don't see your family, you really dedicate yourself and then it comes down to what you look like – it's so f*****g boring.'

Nicola also shared rare insight into her relationship with boyfriend, actor Jake Dunn, saying: 'We try our best. I send him annoying videos all the time and then, you know, a lot of Facetime, but he's super-busy. 

'Before we were together, I just thought he was a really talented actor. But I love when people have their own stuff going on.'

Despite rising to fame in Bridgerton and Derry Girls, Nicola said she's gone to great lengths to avoid being typecast.

She said: 'I feel very lucky for that. I think there was a risk with Derry Girls being such a success, kind of out of nowhere… It was incredible, but you do have a moment where you go, ''Am I going to play this character forever?''

'I was lucky that Bridgerton came around, because it was really different right away.' 

Nicola has been starring in a revival of the 1907 production of The Playboy Of The Western World at The National Theatre, opposite her former Derry Girls co-star Siobhán McSweeney.

The star recently revealed she'd recently been struck down with an illness and was still not yet back to full health.

As a result, she explained that on advice from her doctors, she would be be unable to greet fans after the show to give out autographs as usual, because she was prioritising keeping healthy enough to ensure she could keep performing.

Stressing her gratitude for being part of the show, she penned: 'Thank you so much to everyone who's come to see The Playboy of the Western World so far, this show is a joy to be in and I'm loving every moment, I feel so grateful we get to keep doing it until February.'

She went on: 'Unfortunately I caught a bug a few weeks ago and am not yet back to full health so following medical advice I won't be able to sign at Stage Door post-show for the forseeable future.

'My priority has to be to be well enough to perform for the rest of the run so I thank you in advance for your understanding and hope you continue to enjoy our show as much as we enjoy performing it for you.' 

The April issue of ELLE UK is on sale from 10 March.