Bridgerton‘s Nicola Coughlan weighed in on fan speculation that Penelope and Colin had more sex scenes that weren’t featured on the show.
Coughlan, 37, replied via Instagram on Friday, June 21, to viewers questioning what moments didn’t make the final cut, writing, “Aaah this is just a rumor! I think you got all the Polin we had but there’s lots of BTS still to share.”
The actress’ clarification came shortly after producer Tom Verica also shut down the rumors. “Not sure where this all came from but these claims are false,” he wrote in his Instagram comments section on Wednesday, June 19, after sharing photos from the set. “The supposed scenes … don’t exist.”
Since season 3 wrapped up on June 13, fans have claimed there were more scenes between Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope (Coughlan) that didn’t see the light of day. The couple was the focus of the third season, but some viewers felt they were sidelined in the second half. As a result, social media users spread rumors about sex scenes they thought were scrapped at the last second from the show.
Based on Julia Quinn‘s novel Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, season 3 focused on Colin and Penelope’s love story after their friendship became a staple of the past two seasons. After being on the show before becoming the leads, Coughlan admitted there was some pressure.
“Luke and I read the books at the beginning of season 1, and it was funny to us. We were like, ‘Imagine if we have to kiss and do this,'” she recalled to Entertainment Tonight in June 2023. “And then season 3 came on and we were like, ‘Oh, God.’ And then it’s like, it’s my friend. I have to kiss my friend. And you can’t pretend to kiss someone, you have to really kiss them. It’s a spicy one. It’s a lot of the stuff from the books that the fans expect has made it into the show.”
Coughlan later praised Newton, 31, for making her feel “really taken care of” while filming the streamier sequences.
“We really had each other’s backs and also then we could just have a laugh about it like, the way that we just, like, lying under a blanket being like, ‘I should chill now,’” she told AP Entertainment in February, to which Newton added, “Yeah, halfway through the day you just relax and you’re like, ‘I don’t really care if I’m naked.’”
Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell recently promised that Colin and Penelope will continue to appear on the show after finding their happily ever after.
“Colin and Penelope will absolutely follow suit with past couples in terms of being more in the ensemble, so that our main couple next season can come to the foreground. But I do think that there is a bit more to tell story-wise with Whistledown,” she teased to Entertainment Weekly earlier this month about Penelope’s not-so-secret identity as gossip writer Lady Whistledown. “Whistledown has been the narrative glue of every season. Now that Penelope’s out publicly as Whistledown, I want to see more of what that’s like. So, we will continue with them next season for sure.”
Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix.
