Nicola Coughlan is taking the acting world by storm.
And we couldn’t be more proud of our Galway girl.
Yes, the past 12 months have seen the 37-year-old Irish actor headlining a new Channel 4 sitcom with Lydia West and taking the lead in the third season of Bridgerton.
And now, she’s finishing the year off with a one-off guest appearance in Doctor Who’s Christmas special, playing opposite Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor.
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In the Steven Moffat-penned episode, Nicola plays a young woman called Joy, who opens a secret doorway to the Time Hotel where she discovers “danger, dinosaurs and the Doctor”.
Speaking to Radio Times about her role, Nicola gushed: “It’s just beautifully written.
“It’s funny, and it’s heartbreaking, and it’s full of adventure and excitement and aliens. It’s exactly the kind of thing you want to sit down and watch after Christmas dinner.
“I think it’s a real homecoming with Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies working their magic. And Ncuti as well! He truly has that charisma in real life. I’m just lucky to be along for the ride,” she added.
Before agreeing to take on the role, Nicola admitted that she was “overwhelmed” to join the universe as she never really watched Doctor Who.
“I didn’t grow up with Doctor Who. In my house in Ireland, we only had the two Irish channels, no BBC, so it wasn’t in my day-to-day.
“When they asked me, I was super-keen. But when I tried to do the research, I thought, ‘Oh my God… this is a full universe!’ I was kind of overwhelmed. But then I thought the thing to do would be just try to do my best acting and hopefully make the Who fans happy!”
Doctor Who: Joy to the World will air on Christmas Day (Wednesday 25th December) on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 5:10pm.