Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Bridgerton’s casting director has revealed she is sent a substantial number of unsolicited intimate audition tapes by actors and fans wanting to get on the show.
Kelly Valentine Hendry has been selecting the cast for Bridgerton since the raunchy Regency drama began in 2020 and shot the likes of Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page, who played the season one lead characters Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Basset, to international stardom.
Hendry said the photos and videos she receives are not “nudes” or “actual sex” but are “not far off” from being fully explicit.
Speaking on the Should I Delete That? podcast, Hendry said she receives “the most unbelievable videos” in her inbox “every day”, adding the content is “quite punchy”.
The casting director said her inbox is always filled “90 per cent” by Bridgerton fans seeking a part on the show.
Most recently, fans have been hounding Hendry to let them play the role of Sophie Beckett, who is the love interest of Benedict Bridgerton in Julia Quinn’s novels.
In one audition tape, Hardy said one hopeful was wearing a period costume so large it could have been hung from “scaffolding”.
“It’s a bit sad, really, I don’t understand it,” she said.
The unsolicited videos come after viewers were left shocked by an intimate scene in part two of the third Bridgerton series, which was released last month.
The scene in question sees Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope Featherington and Luke Newton’s Colin Bridgerton get down to it on a chaise longue – which actually broke on set while the sequence was being filmed.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Coughlan had teased the scene in interviews ahead of the episode’s release, and one viewer posted on X saying: “Nicola Coughlan did not lie. This was truly the BEST sex scene of the Bridgerton universe and just like Penelope I too was left wanting more of it.”
Another fan wrote: “Nicola breaking the chaise lounge while shooting a sex scene for Bridgerton is icon behaviour.”
But not everyone was keen. Some people on social media shared their awkward experiences of watching the scene on public transport or with their parents.
“The Colin Penelope sex scene is so awkward,” wrote one viewer. “NOT GIVING AT ALL AND IT’S SO UNNECESSARILY LONG.”
