Given how hot-under-the-collar the previous two installments of "Bridgerton" made fans, it's understandable that Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton wanted to up the ante when it came to those "POLIN" love scenes. We're talking, of course, about Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton, our romantic heroes of the upcoming "Bridgerton" season 3. And per Coughlan, the actors weren't scared to give it all they had for those intimate moments.
"Bridgerton" fans got a sneak peek at one such scene last week, when the Netflix gods gifted us with a clip featuring Coughlan's Penelope and Newton's Colin gazing steamily into a mirror at each other, harking back to an infamous sequence from the Julia Quinn book "Romancing Mister Bridgerton," on which the third season is based. (The 30-second teaser also reminded fans of the new season's release dates, with episodes dropping on Netflix in two batches: the first four eps will debut on Thursday, May 16 and the final four installments will follow on Thursday, June 13.)
And during a discussion with Entertainment Weekly, Coughlan revealed that things got heightened while filming the love scenes: "We did break a piece of furniture while doing one of those scenes. I didn't know what it was gonna be like, but it's a little bit like a stunt in which they're like, 'Okay, we're gonna do this, this, and this."
"But then they gave us freedom to like, we had a lot of say in how we did those scenes and what we wanted to do," the actress added. "And that makes you feel quite empowered and you're like, 'Oh yeah, we're gonna do this, this, and this.' So we felt super. They were actually really enjoyable. I didn't think they would be. They were great. It was fun."
But while those "POLIN" romantic moments were successful, Coughlan would rather her Irish Catholic family not watch them. During an April 4 appearance on SiriusXM Hits 1, the "Bridgerton" star revealed that she actually requested from Netflix a PG-rated cut of the new season to show her parents, without all of the bodice-ripping, bustle-rustling and bottom-revealing content that "Bridgerton" has become known for.
"It's literally written into my contract. People think I'm saying it as a joke," she said, via The Independent. "I just don’t want to. We grew up Irish Catholic. That's just not how we vibe."
While on the radio show, Coughlan also jokingly shared her mom's reaction to the first few "Bridgerton" seasons: “When she first saw Bridgerton, she didn’t know it was gonna be so saucy ... and then you get a bottom, Jonathan Bailey’s lovely bottom, about two minutes into the first episode ever. And she was like, ‘What is this?’ But then, now she thinks it’s fantastic and really funny, and she keeps talking about bottoms.”
All that sauciness might not be allowed in the Coughlan household but clearly, it is how most "Bridgerton" viewers vibe. As you wait on those steamy new season 3 episodes, including any furniture-breaking details and "POLIN" teasers to come, Tom's Guide will keep you up to date with all 'Bridgerton'-related intel.
