Normal People's sex scene secrets - from safewords to how they shot nudity

Normal People has become a huge hit, not just for its beautiful love story but for its explicit sex scenes.

Now a member of the crew who worked on the BBC show's saucy shots has revealed the secrets to making them work.

The series, which is based on Sally Rooney's best-selling novel, follows the enduring relationship between Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron through school and young adulthood.

Ita O'Brien worked as an intimacy co-ordinator on set and it was her job to make sure the actors felt as comfortable as possible while shooting sex scenes.

She said the programme's stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, 21, (who plays Marianne) and Paul Mescal, 24, (Connell) were coached while acting out the intimate moments their characters shared.

Normal People is full of raunchy sex scenes (BBC)

Daisy Edgar-Jones, 21, (who plays Marianne) and Paul Mescal, 24, (Connell) are often naked in the show (BBC)

She told RTE’s Brendan O’Connor Show: "Before the role of the intimacy co-ordinator there wasn't the sense that actually we need to bring a skill and choreography to the intimate content, and there wasn’t a sense that we had to do a risk assessment.

"Actors were left to their own devices.

"Directors might have spoken really clearly about what they wanted from the intimate content, but there wasn't that stage of making sure everywhere the actors were going to be touched or the sexual content they might be doing – or the degree of nudity.

Intimacy co-ordinator Ita O'Brien made sure the actors felt as comfortable as possible while shooting sex scenes (BBC)

"There was no agreement or consent in place and there was certainly no choreography.

"So for example, if you're doing an intimate scene the fundamental rule is never ever should their genitalia touch.

"You'll have the actress wearing a modesty patch and the gentleman wearing a modesty pouch."

Normal People is based on Sally Rooney's best-selling novel and follows the enduring relationship between Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron (BBC/Element Pictures/Hulu)

Ita said that she was there to empower the young actors and help them stop filming if they felt uncomfortable.

She continued: "What we have in place is the actors are empowered and they have the autonomy to halt the action when filming an intimate scene.

"The actor will have a safe word to halt the action and share it with the crew and if anything happens through the take that isn’t comfortable or they need to take a break they need to call out to halt the action themselves."