Phoebe: I had to fast-forward the rude bits!
BRIDGERTON’S famously raunchy sex scenes have proved something of an embarrassment for star Phoebe Dynevor – because she’s been watching the show with her grandparents.
‘I fast-forwarded all the naughty parts,’ the 25-year-old admits in The Mail on Sunday’s You magazine today. ‘The remote was in my hand at all times. We skipped past episode six completely. I was like, “That’s just not worth watching!” ’
Phoebe has been partly sheltered from her new-found fame by spending lockdown with her mum, Coronation Street star Sally Dynevor, and screenwriter dad Tony in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.
But it meant watching the show on Netflix with the whole family – ‘ including my grandma and grandpa’ – so forcing her to skip the sex scenes between her character Daphne Bridgerton and the dashing Duke of Hastings.
She admits there was a ‘definite spark’ in the room when she and Regé-Jean Page, who plays the Duke, first read together for the period drama – but scotches suggestions of a true-life romance. ‘There was so much pressure on us to get it right that it was all about the work,’ she says.
‘We have a really professional working relationship. I’m glad for that, actually. It would be very complicated if it went further. I always hear about people falling in love with their co-stars. It’s yet to happen to me, but I’m intrigued.’
The pair had an intimacy co-ordinator who choreographed their steamy scenes and used yoga mats and padding, to give the appearance they were closer than they were. Comparing the scenes to stunts, Phoebe says: ‘It’s all about making it look real but not actually doing it – like someone getting punched in a screen fight when you’re not actually punching them.
‘You feel so safe… Otherwise it’s awkward filming two people going at it. When you’re not really naked and there are so many things in between you, that makes for a way more comfortable experience.’
After Bridgerton aired, Phoebe got a message from Daisy EdgarJones, who shot to fame in another sex-filled show, last year’s Normal People. ‘It’s been great being able to talk it through with someone who has been through the exact same experience,’ Phoebe said.