Filming Bridgerton Sex Scenes Was “Quite Liberating” For Nicola Coughlan

Ever since Season 1, Bridgerton sex scenes have been notorious. The upcoming episodes have a lot to live up to, but Season 3’s steamy scenes won’t disappoint. Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton’s fan-favorite couple Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton (aka Polin) take the spotlight in the upcoming season, and according to Coughlan in a March 28 appearance on the British talk show This Morning, she thinks they’ve “won the sauciness battle.”

Taking Control

Luckily, dear readers, filming intimate scenes wasn’t too awkward for the two co-stars. Coughlan admitted that she found it “really nerve-wracking” at first, but their close relationship helped. “Thankfully I’ve known Luke for four years and he’s a super nice guy,” she said. They could “kind of have a laugh about it,” she said, adding, “It was quite liberating and quite fun to do.”

A Bridgerton intimacy coordinator played a key role in the process, and Coughlan shouted out Lizzy Talbot for being “amazing” at the job. Plus, Coughlan felt her and Newton’s voices were heard when they were filming Penelope and Colin’s intimate moments.

“Luke and I actually had a lot of say in what we wanted to do and we kind of had ideas about how we wanted things to play out,” she said, “which was great, ’cause we really felt like we were in control.”

Parental Guidance Suggested

Even though the racy scenes were “liberating” to film, there are some viewers Coughlan and Newton want to skip over certain moments. They emphatically denied that they’ll be watching it with family and friends to Ireland’s Today FM in February. In fact, Coughlan said she specifically “requested a PG version for [her] mammy.” Meanwhile, Newton named Episode 2 as just one of multiple that he wouldn’t be able to watch with his own mother.

“It’s going to be significantly shorter,” Coughlan quipped about the PG version.

Teasing Polin Stans

Ahead of the premiere of Bridgerton Season 3, Part 1 on May 16, Coughlan has been doling out little hints about what’s coming. She memorably referenced one of the steamiest scenes from the Bridgerton books while speaking to ET in May 2022, offering one simple but loaded word when asked what fans will get in Season 3: “Mirror.” More recently, she used the mirror emoji alongside a clip of Penelope and Colin getting closer.

Romance is an essential part of their story as well, and Coughlan has also spoken about that element. She called Season 3 “so romantic” during a June interview with People, and added that she could feel it even while filming. “There were a lot of moments on set where we filmed something and we’d turn around and everyone was sort of clutching their chest being like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was that kind of love,” she said.