Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s friend reveals story behind the iconic Emmys celebration shot

The photograph was taken by the Fleabag star's close pal, Josh Cole 
Phoebe Waller-Bridge celebrates her Emmys wins in style
Josh Cole
Rachel McGrath24 September 2019
The Weekender

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Phoebe Waller-Bridge is reclining on a sun lounger with a margarita in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She is surrounded by Emmys.

If you’ve been on the Internet in the past 48 hours, then you’ve probably seen the (amazing) picture plenty of times.

The snap was taken by Waller-Bridge’s friend and former colleague, Josh Cole, who met the star when he produced her 2016 comedy Crashing.

On Sunday, he was by her side for a once-in-a-lifetime evening at the Emmys, taking the picture as they celebrated at Chateau Marmont.

Emmy Awards 2019: Winners - In pictures

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The picture came about organically but like all good “candid” photos, there was a tiny bit of stage management.

Speaking over the phone from Los Angeles, he told Standard Online: “We were celebrating the win and we just went out to the pool and took a moment to relax.

"We may have slightly placed the Emmys either side of her [Waller-Bridge] but the whole thing was such an iconic moment. It needed to be captured.

“All it takes is a little clarendon filter on Instagram and you’ve got an iconic shot.”

Addressing the fact it has gone viral, he added: “From yesterday, it’s spread like wildfire on the Internet. It’s ridiculous, but great.”

“I don’t really mind but it’s also not that often that you take a photo of someone who just won numerous Emmys so it’s kind of nice to get the credit for it as well.”

Waller-Bridge won three major awards at Sunday night’s Emmys - Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Writing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Comedy Series - scooping all of them for her work on series two of Fleabag.

Cole revealed he’s not too bothered about the fact he hasn’t been credited by the many fan accounts who have shared it.

“I think that’s generally the way it is when things go viral,” he said. “It kind of stops mattering [where it’s from], if it’s on Twitter, it just gets retweeted and retweeted.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge in her breakthrough comedy, Crashing
Channel 4

“It is amazing and she totally deserves it,” Cole said. “She’s brilliant. And she’s as brilliant off screen as she is on.”

Killing Eve, which Waller-Bridge serves as an executive producer for, also came away with a prize thanks to Jodie Comer, who won in the Lead Actress in a Drama Series category.

Other British winners included Ben Whishaw and Black Mirror creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones.

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