Bridgerton stars Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton reveal they BROKE the chaise lounge during that explicit six minute sex scene as fans praise 'empowering' actress for stripping off

Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan has revealed a behind the scenes secret from season three of the hit show, which dropped its second half on Netflix on Thursday.

Fans have been impatiently waiting to see Penelope Featherington (Nicola) and Colin Bridgerton's (Luke Newton) love story unfold and they weren't disappointed as the new episodes feature the characters' first, very explicit, sex scene.

Nicola shared an Instagram post on Thursday, thanking fans for watching and revealing a hilarious detail about the six minute scene.

She shared a snap of the chaise lounge where the pair filmed before revealing that she and Luke managed to break the piece of furniture with their antics.    

'Part Two is out now, we put our heart and souls into it, hope you love watching it as much as we loved filming it ❤️ #PolinForever,' she captioned the photos.

The behind the scenes Insta snaps showed Nicola and Luke giving the camera a thumbs up as they posed with the damaged chaise lounge. 

The hilarious post was met with an outpouring of comments from fans of 'Polin' - the couple name given to Penelope and Colin.

Nicola's close friend, Queer Eye star Jonathan van Ness commented with laughing face emojis while another fan quipped: 'We can all say that scene broke us'.

Nicola previously revealed: 'I think we've won the sauciness for this series!' as she teased that she and Luke had damaged the set with their onscreen romps, telling Entertainment Weekly: 

'We did break a piece of furniture while doing one scene. It's a little bit like a stunt in which they're like, 'Okay, we're gonna do this, this, and this.

'But then they gave us freedom and we had a lot of say in how we did those scenes and what we wanted to do. That makes you feel quite empowered.

'So we felt super. They were actually really enjoyable. I didn't think they would be. It was fun.'

While Nicola previously revealed this installment was set to be saucier than ever, viewers were made to wait until the closing moments of part one for the central love story to really kick off as things got steamy between the couple in the carriage. 

However, now that the pair have finally declared their love, it seems there was no holding the young lovebirds back as they threw themselves into passionate scenes. 

Penelope and Colin's sex scene comes in episode five of the series as fans went wild for the racy romp, with one penning: 'I'M SCREAMING I KNEW IT. ON THE SOFA;' thought this show was PG13?!?!?'

'oh ep 5 went from 0 to 100 quick lmao'; 'Just watched episode 5 and all i want to say is oh my god'; 'Boobs on my screen this is crazy'.

'Omggg these two just have me screaming, giggling, and kicking my feet, and crying all at the same time!!! I LOVE YOU POLIN!! I LOVE YOUUUU!!'

Viewers also took to X to applaud Nicola and producers for the 'empowering' episode. 

They wrote: ' Bridgerton deserves ALL the awards for the way they're showing Penelope's pleasure as something sensual and desirable and BEAUTIFUL.' 

'not even 25 minutes and I'm in a flood of tears, you have no idea how important it is for me to see a woman with Nicola's body being so desired and loved in a sex scene because that is one of my biggest insecurities... I'm too much happy'. 

'Nicola Coughlan, you absolute goddess.... Episode 5... I cried.' 

But that racy six-minute sex scene between Penelope and Colin has divided critics, with it branded both 'cringe' and 'one of the sexiest moments on television'. 

While Variety's Aramide Timudu called the scene of the 'sexiest things seen on television since Bridgerton series one', the Evening Standard's Vicky Jessop felt the highly-anticipated regency romp left a little to be desired. 

'Steamy this is not,' she said. 'Watching it feels like seeing two teenagers fumbling their way through an awkward clinch.'

Critics' opinions on part two were largely restricted to episode five and six, as Netflix guarded the final two for its main drop on Thursday.

Vicky gave part two a damning two-star review, as she asked: 'Is Bridgerton losing its touch?'

During a special screening Q&A in Dublin about the new episodes, a female journalist commented that she was 'very brave' to play the role of Penelope Featherington - which some fans branded a 'backhanded comment'.

And in a video captured by Goss.ie, Nicola then brilliantly responded saying: 'You know, it is hard because I think women with my body type - women with perfect breasts - we don't get to see ourselves onscreen enough!'

'And I'm very proud as a member of the perfect breasts community. I hope you enjoy seeing them.'

Fans of the star were quick to respond to the moment that has begun circulating on social media as they said: 'It must have been one of those insulting, backhanded comments. Nicola's clever!'

While the most shocking, Colin and Penelope's scene wasn't the first steamy moment in part two. 

Less than five minutes into episode five, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) was seen in bed with widow, Lady Tilley Arnold but their antics remained firmly under the covers. 

However later, Benedict is faced with a tempting sexual offer, after Lady Tilley Arnold reveals to him that her fellow partner Mr Suarez has expressed an interest in Benedict. 

Torn over his decision, Benedict decides to accept the proposal on Colin and Penelope's wedding night. 

As Lady Tilley and Mr Suarez enters, Benedict says: 'I have been thinking about your offer.' 

As Lady Tilley asks: 'And?' Benedict seductively kisses her, before locking eyes with Mr Suarez before the two men engage in a passionate kiss before the scene cuts.

Bridgerton season 3 episodes 5 and 6 review: After weeks of anticipation, Penelope FINALLY gets her way with Colin... but how much longer can she keep him in ignorance? CHRISTOPHER STEVENS writes 

Rating:

Etiquette demands an English gentleman should always remove his socks before performing The Deed. But as Bridgerton finally reached its climactic moment, Lady Whistledown was completely naked – while her lover still wore his riding boots.

Stars Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton have been promising for weeks that this time, in two newly released episodes, Bridgerton goes all the way. And they weren't fibbing... though, for such an explicit sex scene, it was also oddly chaste.

She plays shy, bookish Penelope, who leads a secret double life as the gossip-writer Lady W. He is her childhood friend, Colin Bridgerton, now her besotted fiance, who has no idea about her alter ego – and who nurses a furious loathing for the Whistledown scandal sheet.

How much longer she can keep him in ignorance, and what fireworks there'll be when he discovers the truth, is the chief source of tension in this big-budget Regency romance.

We last saw the loved-up couple declaring their passion for each other during a steamy carriage ride. Devotees of real 19th century romance will know this scene was shamelessly stolen from Flaubert's novel of domestic infidelity, Madame Bovary.

But that literary fumble ended in dutiful self-restraint and a proposal of marriage. This time, there is no holding back.

Following a row with her mother (this is essentially a teen romance, after all) the couple retreat to the Belgravia rooms they will share when they are married. He makes an impassioned declaration of adoration, in very 21st century language: 'You make me feel seen in ways I have never felt seen before.'

And then, as she quivers in expectation, he reverts to the more traditional metaphors of Dame Barbara Cartland: 'Your eyes shine like two blue pools, the firmness of your lips parted just so, the softness of your skin...'

After that, naturally, Penelope is powerless to resist – though his lordship is impeccably conscientious about applying for her permission before every kiss. 'You must tell me to stop if you do not wish for this,' he urges.

Were there ever four less erotic words than, 'Reader, he obtained consent'?

Compare this to the moment in Poldark when Cap'n Ross bursts into the bedchamber of his arch-enemy's wife Elizabeth, and ravishes her despite her half-hearted attempts to refuse him. But then, whatever else he was, Poldark was no gentleman.

Colin undresses Penelope in front of a mirror so he can admire her before he has so much as removed his waistcoat. Then he performs a striptease for her, before they subside onto a chaise longue.

He flashes his bum, she bares her boobs, just so we can be in no doubt that The Deed is about to take place. 'May I?' he requests.

But instead of cutting away discreetly, as Dame Barbara would insist, we're with the happy couple all the way to the end, so to speak. Thankfully, they're covered by a discreet blue silk drape, probably supplied by the Netflix 'intimacy co-ordinator'.

Afterwards, they share the joke that has made newlyweds giggle for centuries. 'Can we do it again?' she asks.

'Give me five minutes,' he pleads. 'Maybe ten.'

For the rest of the episode, there's precious little to hold our interest, because most of the chief characters are so boringly happy. Colin's big brother and his bride are blissfully married, his little sister is being courted by an earl, and both Penelope's sisters are contentedly pregnant.

Only Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton can inject any drama, because she is sulking furiously. There's a game of charades, played for high stakes, before Eloise threatens to expose Lady W's secret to her brother.

What she doesn't know is that Penelope has already exposed everything else to Colin. Oh, the scandal!