THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE YUCKY: BRIEF HISTORY OF STEAM ON SCREEN

THROUGHOUT the history of theatre, film and TV, certain sex scenes have become famous for being either gratuitous, controversial, erotically charged or downright embarrassing. Some are tastefully coy while others leave nothing to the imagination.

American fantasy drama Game of Thrones is known for its various love making scenes and when it aired back in 2011 it featured incest, adultery, rape and prostitution.

Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen, shared many steamy sex scenes with her on-screen warlord husband Jason Momoa, in his role as Khal Drogo.

She has described her co-star as being ‘kind’ and ‘considerate’ during their filming.

French romance film Blue is the

Warmest Colour explores the lesbian relationship between a teenager and an older woman – played by actresses Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos.

They were reportedly unhappy with the director’s methods but a six-minute sex scene left many critics wondering if the action was simulated or not.

Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, a film about the secretive relationship between two cowboys and their lives over the years, featuring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, caused a stir with its sexual scenes in 2005.

Also notorious is Performance – the 1970 film featuring Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and actress Anita Pallenberg.

The realistic shots between the sheets sparked rumours the couple were not in fact acting in front of the camera.

It was also claimed Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie had sex on set while shooting their 1973 film Don’t Look Now.

But decades later Sutherland dismissed the suggestion, telling the New York Daily News last year: ‘There were two cameramen in there. The takes were 15 seconds long, maximum’.