Bridgerton's production team reveals protocol for spicy scenes

Nothing is compromised in the production of Bridgerton. Hear it from their production designer.

Alison Gartshore, the production designer behind Netflix's royal sensation Bridgerton since 2020, recently lifted the curtain on the process of crafting the show's intimate scenes.

From script to set, every detail undergoes careful scrutiny to ensure an enduring portrayal of passion on screen.

The process begins when the cast is reading the scripts.

"Obviously, if you know Bridgerton, you’ll know that there's quite a lot of intimate scenes throughout the series," Gartshore revealed during a tour of the Bridgerton family residence. 

"Not to give you any spoilers, but we always have to make sure that where we have those intimacy scenes, the furniture will stand up to the job, shall we say."

This commitment to authenticity sometimes comes at a cost, as actors Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan, portraying Colin and Penelope respectively, can attest. Coughlan once candidly admitted to breaking a piece of furniture during filming.

“Yeah, h*** yeah we did,” Coughlan, 37, said at the season 3 launch event in Australia when asked to confirm reports of the furniture damage. 

In the upcoming season, fans can anticipate the unfolding love story of Penelope and Colin, drawn from Julia Quinn's fourth Bridgerton novel, Romancing Mister Bridgerton.

But the challenges don't end there. David Ingram, another integral member of the production team, revealed the challenges faced while filming the Bridgerton spin-off, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story as well.

Despite the allure of period stately homes, limitations on set accessibility meant that intimate bedroom scenes had to be recreated in nearby studios.

"In a lot of these stately homes, you can't have the intimacy scenes in the beds. You can't touch the beds. You can't move the beds," Ingram explained. "We were building bedroom scenes and back-of-the-house sets on the [sound]stage.”

The first part of Bridgerton season 3 premieres on May 16, and part 2 drops on June 13. Seasons 1 and 2 of Bridgerton — as well as Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story — are now streaming on Netflix.