Revealed: How Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, 37, met her toyboy lover Jake Dunn, 24

Being connected a dating app arsenic 1 of the world's astir recognisable women is acold from ideal.

That's wherefore Nicola Coughlan near it up to her Derry Girls co-star and adjacent friend, Louisa Harland, to play cupid erstwhile it came to her emotion beingness and acceptable her up with someone.

And Louisa, 31, deed the bullseye aft she introduced the Bridgerton actress, 37, to her champion person and Renegade Nell co-star, Jake Dunn.

After months of hiding the budding relationship, Nicola and Jake, 24, yet confirmed their romance connected Wednesday nighttime aft they were spotted returning location hand-in-hand from a pub travel successful North London.

Friends of the mates told MailOnline: 'They're perfectly besotted with each different and person truthful overmuch amusive together. Despite their engaged schedules, they've slotted into each other's lives truthful easy arsenic they stock specified a large radical of communal friends.'

Jake, who graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama past year, has appeared successful projects other Nicola's Derry Girls co-stars Louisa Harland and Dylan Llewellyn, 32.

Like Nicola, the London-born histrion has besides starred successful a play drama, Disney's Renegade Nell, other Louisa.

The root added: 'When Derry Girls ended Nicola, Dylan and Louisa remained the champion of friends and ever supported each different successful their careers truthful it made consciousness Nicola met Jake.'

While inactive astatine play school, Jake was booked connected for the Channel 4 Big Boys other Dylan and was written by Jack Rooke who is simply a adjacent person of Nicola's.

The pack of friends are large supporters of each other's enactment and are often spotted hanging retired successful North West London wherever Nicola has a location successful the trendy Stoke Newington area.

In September, Jake posted an Instagram of Jack, 31, successful a pub wearing a shot headdress which work Nicola Coughlan, matched with a t-shirt which read: 'And her cleanable breasts.'

Louisa was besides pictured wearing a shot headdress which read, 'Shady Whistledown' a motion to Jake's girlfriend's quality successful Bridgerton, Penelope Featherington, being the mysterious Lady Whistledown.

The brace were archetypal spotted unneurotic arsenic acold backmost arsenic March erstwhile posing for an Instagram communicative shared by 1 of Jake's co-stars successful Renegade Nell.

In August the brace were seen astatine London's All Points East festival with their arms wrapped astir each different dancing, but their narration was not confirmed.

MailOnline tin uncover the mates person enjoyed a summertime with their web of adjacent friends attending festivals, drinking Guinness and playing Scrabble astatine Nicola's section pub successful Stoke Newington.

Two weeks agone the mates were spotted successful New York astatine a taping of the late-night drama show, SNL, and 1 onlooker said: 'Her fellow stood by her broadside proudly portion radical kept coming up instrumentality girling.'

While the 37-year-old Irish histrion from Galway has been connected the acting circuit for implicit 10 years, uncovering her large interruption successful the Channel 4 amusement Derry Girls, Jake is caller retired of play school.

But the handsome British histrion bagged the pb relation successful a Disney series, Renegade Nell, with a 2nd bid commissioned astir him, respective signifier shows, a Netflix bid and a diagnostic movie - each portion inactive astatine play school.

As a rising prima successful the industry, Jake boasts a slew of celebrated friends including the likes of The Trial of Christine Keeler's Ellie Bamber and Sex Education's Connor Swindell.