When it comes to Bridgerton sex scenes, two camps have emerged. They're equally matched in the strength of their convictions and unabashed horniness, and their fierce debate comes down to one essential question: Which season is hotter?
Are you a season-one loyalist, forever grousing that season two doesn't have enough sex? Do you watch that GIF of Regé-Jean Page licking a spoon and sigh wistfully about the good old days? Or are you a fervent defender of season two, declaring to anyone who will listen that actually delayed gratification is the whole point? Do you watch that GIF of Jonathan Bailey emerging from the water and sigh wistfully that nobody's ever called you the bane of their existence?
Instead of focusing on what divides, I urge both parties to consider what united us in the first place: Lizzy Talbot, the intimacy coordinator behind those Bridgerton sex scenes that have everyone so worked up. Anthony brooding in a bath, Daphne and Simon's love of outdoor sex, the hand flex that's all over TikTok—she choreographed them all for seasons one and two with a singular goal in mind: The female gaze always comes first. (Pun intended.)
So we asked her about the Bridgerton season-two sex scenes—the challenges, the wins, and even the scenes that didn't make the final edit. Read on.
Glamour: How was this season different? What notes did you get going in?
Lizzy Talbot: This was going to be a slightly different season in terms of the type of intimacy we were engaging with. In season one, we had Daphne's journey of discovery. Whereas, in this season, it was going to be about enemies-to-lovers, the intense buildup, and the space between—the electricity that's happening in the space between these two characters and watching that slowly draw closer and closer together. So it was really clear about the buildup.
Simone Ashley's character, Kate, certainly seems more aware than Daphne of what happens in the bedroom. Did that give you more freedom to work with?
Yeah, for sure. It's always nice to work with that type of character. When a character's sure about what they want, you can make some really determined decisions. You've got a little bit more freedom to play because it's not about what they're learning—it's about what they desire. They already know what they want, so that leads a whole lot of the choreography.
When I interviewed Simone, she said she learned a few things from you...
[Laughs.] Yeah, I think these are some of her more extreme sex scenes to have taken on. But again, you're probably going to know that coming into to the world of Bridgerton. It's something they don't shy away from. She was so cool, calm, collected, incredibly confident, and an absolute joy to work with. She was always smiling and brought her A game every time, without fail, every take. That's a gift for someone in my position to work with. You can do so much more.
And working with Johnny Bailey, that's always so much fun. He brings such a wonderful balance of lightness and experience into the room. Obviously we've worked together before—we had extensive scenes on season one—so it's easy to get into the groove with him. Simone just jumped right in too, which is wonderful. Because we have a great connection, it's smooth sailing.
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What are you making of all the thirst around Anthony this season? Last year his character was more of a cad and now he's a romantic lead. How did you play up that sex appeal?
I always thought he was bringing it pretty hard in season one, actually. I loved the relationship between him and Siena. I thought they had a real playfulness that was really beautiful. It was a relationship that could never be, but it was still quite steamy to watch. So it's not super hard to make the transition. I think the removal of the sideburns went a long way for a lot of people. [Laughs.]
He's just got such wonderful depth as an actor. He can take you from heartbreak to hilarity in moments. I think really what we're seeing in this season is his breadth of talent. That's going to be incredibly attractive to an audience because you get to see so much range from one person.
The other thing Simone said when I interviewed her was how much she appreciated your emphasis on female pleasure, no matter the position.
That's been Bridgerton's position from day one, which is very cool because we know exactly what we're going for every time. The female gaze is the Bridgerton way. That's just how we do it. Chris Van Dusen and the producers have been so clear about that from the beginning. It's never a battle. You're always going in knowing that's the standard.
So it's really important when we're looking at that—the focus is going to be on the foreplay. It's always on the buildup, whether that's physical or emotional. That's where we have to put our emphasis, because there are so many shows that have penetrative sex and orgasms. Bridgerton is one of the few that make female pleasure its focus and goal.
You talked about the buildup—it seemed like there was a lot more heaving bosoms and heavy breathing this season. Was that part of your work, or…?
Yeah, it's really interesting because this season has highlighted the breadth of the intimacy coordinator in that we're not just there for scenes of simulated sex. Our role is so much broader than that. We're there for kissing scenes. We're there for birthing scenes. We're there for bathing scenes. Anytime an actor is in a vulnerable position or we're portraying intimacy, whether that's platonic or romantic, that's what our job requires. So much of the intimacy isn't about penetrative sex. That's the end result often, but there is so much more that goes into the buildup of it, which is where we can come in and help because it's something that we do all day, every day.
When Anthony and Kate do finally have sex, they’re outside on a gazebo. How does the setting influence what you do?
In Bridgerton, we love doing sex scenes outside, as anyone who's watched season one will know. That scene was filmed over two days. The first half was filmed in a night shoot, and the second half was filmed in the studio. One of the amazing things that is so incredible about Bridgerton is that you would never know that.
Obviously the second shoot was much nicer because it was a lot warmer, so we tried to do the majority of the physical work inside to keep actors warm as much as possible. But there is something that's so nice about taking it out of the bedroom and moving it outside. For Anthony and Kate, so much of their chemistry is built into their senses—sight, smell, taste, touch….
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Like when he really dramatically sniffs her as she walks by.
Yeah! So doing it outside when it's dark, when there's the aroma of flowers that are absolutely everywhere, the rain in the morning…it's very sensual because it's engaging so many of the senses. The colors are rich too. Everything we've done is so highly saturated that it brings so much more to the scene than two people lying on some white sheets in the bedroom. Bridgerton really does break the mold in so many ways.
Kudos to the costume department too, because everyone I know wants that purple lingerie set Simone wears.
Isn't it gorgeous? One of the absolute delights of working on Bridgerton is the privilege of seeing Sophie Canale with her costume work. Not only do they look beautiful, but they also feel incredible. The textures are so high-quality that it really helps in the creation of the intimacy. It's not like you're undressing some sort of cheap material that doesn't feel great. Everything you can touch on Bridgerton feels incredible. So when you are getting into those undressing scenes, the actors can really commit to it because it feels so sumptuous. It's these little details that help push for amazing simulated sex scenes.
How much did you weigh in on the ratio of pillows to candles in that scene?
Every time we have a scene of simulated sex, the word sumptuous comes up. That's just the word of Bridgerton. Everything is sumptuous, from the set to the costumes to the wigs to the makeup. Everything is that extra mile. We have a lot of conversations about what blankets are going down, how many cushions they have, what that looks like, whether we need more, whether we need less—all of that weighs into these scenes. We never just chuck anything down. Everything is highly coordinated.
Last question about that scene: When Anthony is going down on her and looks up…was that your direction, to have him making eye contact?
We were always really adamant that there needs to be a lot of eye contact between them at this moment. This isn't a moment they're shying away from; this is a moment they are fully engaged and committed to. I think the irony is that whenever it's the other way around, there is so much emphasis on the female's eyes looking up at the man. It's really nice to be able to flip the script on that.
We wanted it to lock in two places—we wanted the eyes to lock, and we also wanted the hands to lock. Because this wasn't a disconnected moment, this was a moment of such deep connection between them that not only were they connected with their eyes but also physically in the holding of the hand. We were really specific about that.
I’m glad you brought up the hands—I saw a lot of comparisons to Darcy’s hand flex in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice. Whether intentional or not, the nod to that was great.
We're always really intentional about hands, whether it's a kissing scene or a simulated sex scene. We're always very focused on hands because they tell so much of the story. Every hand inflection you see, that's always going to be intentional.
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Are there any actors—or characters—that you haven’t gotten a chance to work with yet that you’re excited to coordinate in future seasons?
I can't speak to future seasons, but I think there are so many that will have incredible storylines, and…I don't know, I'm conscious about saying anything because I don't have any information to give you. All I can say is that I've been thrilled to work with the actors I've worked with so far. If the opportunity arises, I will be equally as excited to work with anyone else on the show because everyone is so fantastic and brings the same level of commitment we've already seen.
Do you read the books for inspiration, or do you like to come in totally clear-headed?
No, I think it's important if you've got any source material that you use it. So yes, I will always read the books. I think it helps insert yourself into the world so you understand exactly what's going on. It's funny, there's such a stigma around romance books, which is so bizarre to me considering how popular they are. It's a genre that is so underused and even occasionally mocked. You're like, "But look at the response!"
Oh, it’s ridiculous. The romance genre is a billion-dollar industry. For the publishing industry, but also Bridgerton is currently the number one show on Netflix.
Yeah, exactly. It's breaking records every season. It's clearly selling. So why aren't people taking advantage of that? I think people are maybe afraid that it won't do well or aren't sure how to stage it or worry they're going to fall into a cheesy version of it or something. I mean, you're wiping out such a huge part of the population who are clearly down for this. Why would you not run with it? I hope we see so many more romance adaptations coming in because it's clearly something people want. And with the representation that Bridgerton brings, people are starting to see themselves onscreen in roles they never thought they would, which is awesome.
Were there any scenes or moments you choreographed that didn’t make the cut this season?
Yeah, there's always quite a few. It was the same in season one. There were loads of scenes that didn't make it. We always do more than we need to so there are many options in the edit. I think that that's a really important thing. I know people have been frustrated that there haven't been more [sex scenes], but part of it is that we want to give our absolute best. There are loads of scenes that don't make the final edit—that's just the world of film. What we are really confident in is that the sex scenes that are in, we're really proud of.
So what things or qualities differentiate a scene that makes it in versus one that is cut?
I don't know if it's a difference between the quality, but it's probably more of what they're looking for narratively. Making sure that the choices we are showing fit how the narrative is moving. And obviously in giving a wide range, you've got more to pick from. So it's not necessarily that one might be much higher-quality than the other. It's just that one might tell the story in the way they're looking for.
Is there anything from last season you didn’t get to include or a lesson that you wanted to bring into this season?
They were two very different seasons, narratively. You're dealing with a journey of discovery and then you're dealing with a journey of absolute tension. We did see some buildup between Daphne and Simon in season one. So it was really cool to see how far we could take it in season two—just how much longing can we bring to the second season? I think they nailed it because two things are going on at the same time: You've got this building of tension, but you've also got so much character development going on. You not only get to see the relationship grow, but you get to see them grow as people. You know who they are, what they're about, and what the stakes are. If there are two characters that you don't really know, then the stakes in the intimacy scenes are so much lower. You're invested in these two after you've watched them for six episodes. Finally, they're doing it and you know them really well. You're rooting for them. You wanted this all along, and now it happens. That's a very cool payoff.
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Okay, last question: What was the most challenging scene to film this season?
There's a scene in episode eight, right at the end, that was quite challenging because we actually had them in a face-to-face position, sitting up, which is a little complicated to do. It worked really beautifully, but that took a lot of figuring out because that angle and position on a Regency bed is really tricky.
Are Regency beds smaller?
They're a lot smaller. They're a little bit more narrow. There's less playing room. And there's often extensive bed covers on them because they are so sumptuous and beautiful. It can kind of get into bed-sheet gymnastics, if you're not careful. There's not a lot of room if you tip over, so there were a lot of trust exercises going on between Johnny and Simone at that point. But also, anything involving dressing and undressing is always going to take time because it is so much more complicated than working on a modern show. But I like to think the payoff is a lot higher.
Anna Moeslein is the deputy editor at Glamour. Read her cover story with Simone Ashley from Bridgerton.
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