Bridgerton star says she did sex scenes in past shows that ‘wouldn’t be allowed now’

Actor Phoebe Dynevor says intimacy coordinator on new Netflix series made shooting sex scenes feel ‘safe and fun’

Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor has discussed her positive experience of filming sex scenes for the new Netflix drama.

Dynevor plays lead character Daphne Bridgerton, an eligible young woman who enters Regency-era London’s competitive marriage market.

As the series progresses, episodes include a number of sex scenes between Daphne and the brooding Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings (Rege-Jean Page), all of which Dynevor says were supervised by an intimacy coordinator.

She told Grazia of her first sex-scene with Page: “It was so great, because it felt safe and fun: you choreograph it like a stunt, or a dance.”

She added that it was “crazy” to her that intimacy coordinators were only recently introduced to film and TV sets.

“I’ve done sex scenes before that I can’t believe I did: it was only five or six years ago, but it would not be allowed now,” she said.

Dynevor’s previous film and TV credits include Dickensian, Younger, the crime comedy series Snatched, and an episode of the BBC drama The Musketeers. 

Bridgerton came under fire following its release over the Christmas holidays, after critics accused showrunners of romanticising a non-consensual sex scene.

In the sixth episode, Daphne is angry at Simon for misleading her about the fact that he can have children, but does not want them.

During sex, when he realises she is trying to get pregnant, he pleads with her to stop but she ignores him.

Critics have condemned the show for choosing to focus on Daphne’s anger about Simon’s lie, instead of his reaction to being raped.

Viewers on social media called the scene “shocking”, while an article in Vox said the show failed to treat it as rape.

The Independent has contacted a representative for comment.