Nicola Coughlan, 38, looks smitten with boyfriend Jake Dunn, 25, as they make their red carpet debut at the Bafta TV Craft Award nominees party

Daily Mail​

24-04-2025

appeared smitten with her boyfriend Jake Dunn as they made their red carpet debut at the Bafta TV and Craft awards nominees party on Thursday.
The Bridgerton actress, 38, and her Renegade Nell star partner, 25, could barely keep their eyes off each other as they arrived at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.
Nicola looked elegant for the evening in a figure-hugging black jacket dress which featured an eye-catching tulle bow on the back.
She layered the statement garment over a pair of black tights as she slipped into a pair of towering black platform heels.
To finish her chic ensemble, the blonde beauty toted her belongings around in a small satin micro bag.
Meanwhile Jake opted for a much more casual appearance as he stepped out in a pair of white trainers and a two-piece navy suit.
He layered his suit over a burgundy wool jumper and a white shirt which he opted to keep the top button open.
Nicola went Instagram official with Jake in February as she took to her Stories to celebrate her boyfriend's 25th birthday with a sweet post.
She shared a photo of Dunn sitting on what appears to be a set as he looked up at the sky.
'Happy Birthday ♥️,' she wrote on the post.
Nicola and Jake met after being after being introduced by her Derry Girls co-star and close friend Louisa Harland.
Following months of hiding the budding relationship, Nicola and Jake, finally confirmed their romance in October after they were spotted returning home hand-in-hand from a pub trip in North London.
Friends of the couple told MailOnline: 'They're absolutely besotted with each other and have so much fun together.
'Despite their busy schedules, they've slotted into each other's lives so easily as they share such a big group of mutual friends.'
Jake, who graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2023, has appeared in projects opposite Nicola's Derry Girls co-stars Louisa Harland and Dylan Llewellyn, 32.
Like Nicola, the London-born actor has also starred in a period drama, Disney's Renegade Nell, opposite Louisa.
The source added: 'When Derry Girls ended Nicola, Dylan and Louisa remained the best of friends and always supported each other in their careers so it made sense Nicola met Jake.'
While still at drama school, Jake was booked on for the Channel 4 Big Boys opposite Dylan and was written by Jack Rooke who is a close friend of Nicola's.
The gang of friends are big supporters of each other's work and are often spotted hanging out in North West London where Nicola has a house in the trendy Stoke Newington area.
In September, Jake posted an Instagram of Jack, 31, in a pub wearing a baseball cap which read Nicola Coughlan, matched with a t-shirt which read: 'And her perfect breasts.'
Louisa was also pictured wearing a baseball cap which read, 'Shady Whistledown' a nod to Jake's girlfriend's character in Bridgerton, Penelope Featherington, being the mysterious Lady Whistledown.
The pair were first spotted together as far back as March when posing for an Instagram story shared by one of Jake's co-stars in Renegade Nell.
In August the pair were seen at London's All Points East festival with their arms wrapped around each other dancing, but their relationship was not confirmed.
MailOnline can reveal the couple have enjoyed a summer with their network of close friends attending festivals, drinking Guinness and playing Scrabble at Nicola's local pub in Stoke Newington.
In October the couple were spotted in New York at a taping of the late-night comedy show, SNL, and one onlooker said: 'Her boyfriend stood by her side proudly while people kept coming up fan girling.'
While Nicola from Galway has been on the acting circuit for over ten years, finding her big break in the Channel 4 show Derry Girls, Jake is fresh out of drama school.
But the handsome British actor bagged the lead role in a Disney series, Renegade Nell, with a second series commissioned around him, several stage shows, a Netflix series and a feature film - all while still at drama school.
As a rising star in the industry, Jake boasts a slew of famous friends including the likes of The Trial of Christine Keeler's Ellie Bamber and Sex Education's Connor Swindell.