Things are getting steamy for Polin! On Thursday, Netflix dropped the final episode of Bridgerton's third season, giving fans the long-awaited happy ending between Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).
The fan-favorite romance was sealed with the longest sex scene in the show's history. At nearly six minutes long, the spicy episode five scene is set to a string cover of Ariana Grande's "POV."
Fans got their first hint at the steaminess to come when ET spoke to Coughlin back in June 2023, and she opened up about kissing Newton, her real-life pal, for the show.
"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.' And then season 3 come on and we were like, 'Oh god,' and then it's like, it's my friend. I have to kiss my friend," Coughlin told ET. "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."
Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan in 'Bridgerton.'
It's a feeling Coughlin reiterated in February, when ET spoke to her and Newton again about bringing their characters' romance to the screen.
"I feel like there's always that question being asked of, is it easier to do the intimacy scenes or the more romantic scenes with someone who is your friend of four years or someone you just met for one day? I can safely say it's easier with a friend," Newton said. "There really is that sort of support."
"It's scary going in, but then, thankfully, we have a really good relationship, so we can talk about it, and we can laugh about it when we need to," Coughlan added. "It made it scary, but a lot better."
Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan pose together.
Intrigue about the spicy scene was furthered in May when Coughlan revealed why she wanted to be "very naked" on the show.
"I specifically asked for certain lines and moments to be included," Coughlan told Stylist in an interview, per People. "There's one scene where I'm very naked on camera, and that was my idea, my choice."
"It just felt like the biggest 'f**k you' to all the conversation surrounding my body," she added. "It was amazingly empowering. I felt beautiful in the moment, and I thought: 'When I'm 80, I want to look back on this and remember how f**king hot I looked!' Not only did I consent to it, but I drove it."
Then, when a fan called Coughlan "brave" for stripping down for the scene, the actress fired back, stating, "It is hard because I think women with my body type, women with perfect breasts don't get…"
She trailed off as the crowd erupted in cheers and claps.
"We do not see ourselves as good enough," Coughlan continued with the bit. "I am very proud as a member of the perfect breast community. I'm proud and I hope you enjoy seeing them."
While promoting season 3, Coughlan appeared on the Capitol Breakfast radio show and revealed that she and Newton got so into their sexy scene that they broke a piece of furniture.
"It snapped and I have a picture of the snap," Coughlan said. "... We did break it during a sexy scene because we were really going for it."
Coughlan revealed the broken furniture piece in question on June 13, sharing a photo of her and Newton smiling while standing beside a bed with a broken leg.
"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," she captioned the funny pic.
Seasons 1-3 of Bridgerton are now streaming on Netflix.
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