Nicola Coughlan's romance with Jake Dunn and how acting is her ...

Nicola Coughlan may have found herself a leading man in real life after fans watched her fall in love on-screen as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton's raciest series to date.

It looks like it's time for the actor to find true love for real after her character Penelope waited years to marry her best friend Colin Bridgerton (played by Luke Newton). Bridgerton fans may even be a little disappointed to see Coughlan hasn't chosen to pursue a romance with Newton after they won over the hearts of many fans with Polin's on-screen romance.

Even Coughlan herself joked to TIME magazine last week: "A lot of people really want me to marry Luke." Off-screen they have a great friendship after spending years working together on Bridgerton but it's purely platonic.

This week Coughlan, 37, was pictured holding hands with actor Jake Dunn, 24, on a night out in London, in pictures obtained by MailOnline. The rumoured pair could become one of the hottest celebrity matches of the season, if Coughlan's popularity is anything to go by.

Read more: Bridgerton

Who is Nicola Coughlan's new boyfriend Jake Dunn?

While Coughlan is Irish but made the move to be in London to chase her dreams of being an actor, Dunn is a British actor who also lives in the capital.

He has been making his name as an actor after landing the part as Thomas Blancheford in the Disney+ series Renegade Nell. His other acting credits include Netflix's Get Even, BBC's Rebel Cheer Squad: A Get Even Series and Channel 4's Big Boys.

But it was mutual acting friend Louisa Harland — having worked with both of the rumoured couple — who has reportedly set them up, according to MailOnline. She was said to have played matchmaker after staying friends with Coughlan from their time in Derry Girls and more recently having worked with Dunn in Disney+ series Renegade Nell.

Coughlan and Dunn were first spotted together back in March earlier this year, meaning they have kept their romance mostly under wraps for seven months. They were also seen together in August this summer at All Points East music festival in London.

Nicola Coughlan's true love acting

Only last week, the actor spoke about finding "true love" with her choice of career, even when at times it felt "delusional" that she could make it big in the acting world.

"It's a true love kind of thing," she told TIME magazine. "You have to have a level of delusion to think, I can really sustain myself pretending to be other people."

Her role on Derry Girls as Clare Devlin changed everything as it introduced her to the world of acting and of course her role on Bridgerton.

Finding fame in her 30s meant she feels like she's lived a whole life before being in the spotlight.

She told Radio Times in May: "My 20s were such a struggle – it’s really hard not to be doing the thing that you want so desperately. But I think fame then would be hell, so I wouldn’t go back and change it. I’m sure 22-year-old me would kick me for saying that – but you get to live your mistakes.

"Scrutiny is difficult but it’s easier when you get older to shut certain things out. I lived a whole life before any of this happened. I worked a million different jobs, lived in different places, lived in terrible house shares with mould on the walls."