‘Bridgerton’ Stars Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton Tease You Won’t Find That ‘Steamy’ Carriage Scene in ‘Downton Abbey’

Note: The following contains spoilers for “Bridgerton” Season 3, Episode 4

“Bridgerton” Season 3 caps off its first half with the infamous and steamy carriage scene, one that every loyal fan of the books — including star Nicola Coughlan — was eagerly awaiting to see on screen.

“I remember reading the book years ago and [the carriage scene] stuck out, I was like, ‘Oh, I think this show is gonna be like not ‘Downton Abbey,’ it’s gonna be pretty steamy,'” Coughlan told TheWrap. “That’s one of my favorite scenes in the show, because I’ve seen it back now and I love it.”

Just minutes after Penelope (Coughlan) told Colin (Luke Newton) she would be accepting Lord Debling’s marriage proposal, which he subsequently reneged, Colin stopped Penelope’s carriage on her way home and earnestly confessed his feelings for her. Penelope reciprocated, prompting a hookup scene set to an instrumental cover of Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything.”

“[It] encapsulates everything people love about ‘Bridgerton,'” Coughlan said. “It’s suspenseful, it’s romantic, there’s conflict, there’s sexiness, there’s steaminess, there’s humor — it’s all in one perfect … package.”

The scene marks a definite shift for the childhood friends to dive into their romance and desire for one another, with Newton noting, “We explore so many themes in one scene it is wild.”

“It’s probably the one scene in the whole of the first half that we go through so many emotions all in the space of five minutes,” he said. “It really was the dream for an actor to explore all of that in a real short space of time.”

With so much history between the pair — including Penelope’s previously unrequited feelings and Colin’s recent jealously — Newton explained the intimacy scene offers an opportunity for them to “communicate their true feelings.”

“I think because Colin and Pen can struggle to communicate at times because of their history and because they’ve been friends, it sometimes takes them to be in that environment to really open up emotionally, as well as get undressed,” Newton said.

The carriage scene concludes with Colin’s marriage proposal to Penelope, leaving Part 1 off on a cliffhanger, which the actors relished.

“We got really excited when we were getting [the script] because we were sort of drip-fed the scripts — we didn’t get them all at once or anything — so we were like, ‘What’s going to happen next?'” Coughlan said. “I love that moment — it feels so real and beautiful. It’s so romantic in how unfancy it is, it’s just a declaration of like, ‘Come on, let’s go do this.'”

“It’s quite modern as well,” Newton added, pointing to the moment when Colin decided he would be pursuing a life with Penelope.

Emily Vogel contributed to this reporting.

“Bridgerton” Season 3, Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix, with Part 2 set to stream on June 13.

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