The Sexual Tension Between "Bridgerton" Stars Nicola Coughlan And Luke Newton Was Pop Culture Inspired

The secret behind the yearning between Bridgerton's latest lead characters is all thanks to a little TV history...and great acting, of course.

In Season 3, Part 1 of the popular historical romance drama, fans finally got a chance to witness Nicola Coughlan's Penelope Featherington/Lady Whistledown and Luke Newton's Colin Bridgerton continue down their "will they, won't they" path.

Penelope finally gains the courage to ask Colin for a kiss — something she's been dying to do for a long time. It was almost viewed as a practice kiss, with a hint of pity...something that would hold her over if she remained unlucky with love.

"It's so heartbreaking," Luke told Entertainment Weekly. "Because you are asking the person that's closest to you to do you a favor because you are worried that it'll never happen."

Well, what might've started as an innocent ask soon blossomed into a passionate exchange between two friends. The scene was taken straight out of the book Romancing Mister Bridgerton. Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell added, "The kiss is from the book, Penelope asking Colin to kiss her, and that was a moment we knew we wanted in there. It's such a powerful moment of seeing Pen tiptoe into her agency and into asking for what she wants."

Jess also revealed she had a group chat with Nicola and Luke while creating the season, during which they discussed what they wanted the kiss to "feel like." They also shared clips of their favorite on-screen kisses to figure out the best way to approach their own kiss, whether it be gentle, fiery, or a little of both.

And some of their favorite pop culture smooches came from New Girl and Felicity. "I'm a huge Felicity fan and the first kiss between Keri Russell's character and Scott Speedman is so sexy," Jess said. "They're in the middle of having this conversation, and then Scott Speedman just lunges at her, and it really works. That isn't, though, the vibe of this first kiss."

Nicola, however, had her eyes set on a Nick and Jess from New Girl style of feverish kiss.

As for Luke, he wanted to ensure viewers understood that this kiss changes everything for his character and the way he views Nicola's character. "It's a small kiss, and it could just finish at that, but then both of them are in that moment, and it continues. That's what plays on his mind a bit — why did they continue? Why was it such a passionate kiss? Why am I feeling this way? It takes that moment for him to finally go, 'Oh shit, there is something here. There's something between us.'"

"He is a true romantic," Luke concluded. "Having that moment and realizing, 'Oh, I've been running away from society trying to find something, and I've actually just found it in this moment, but that can't be right because she's my best friend.' That's why there's so much going on. It was so fun to play all different ranges of emotions in that moment."

You can learn more about this scene on Entertainment Weekly.

Be sure to check out Season 3, Part 1 of Bridgerton on Netflix now and stay tuned for Part 2 on June 13.