Bridgerton is nothing short of a Netflix phenomenon. Landing on our screens on Christmas Day in 2020 – a year, if you don’t mind casting your mind back, that will forever be remembered as one spent indoors during a national lockdown – the period drama provided much-needed escapism to a romanticised world of glamour, corsets, royalty and, of course, love. 

Roughly 82 million households worldwide tuned into the first season – and now, six years and four seasons later, during which we have seen one of the fictional Bridgerton brood get married off each time, it’s evident we still can’t get enough. 39.7 million people tuned in to the first instalment of the latest series, which dropped on 26 January 2026 – and it’s been a torturous month-long wait for the final four episodes to be released tomorrow. Whether it beats the debut season or not, one thing is for sure: our appetite for Bridgerton will never be satiated. 

Talking of insatiable appetites (ahem), Bridgerton has also become synonymous with sex scenes. For all the pomp and pageantry, there’s at least double the romp and romance – and while this season focuses on the tribulations of second eldest son Benedict, the most rakish Bridgerton son, played by Luke Thompson, the Shondaland series also intentionally shifted the demographic of its bedroom scenes. 

Image: David Reiss

Gemmell and Daniel Francis, who plays Lord Marcus Anderson in Bridgerton. Image: Netflix

So, how did English actress Ruth Gemmell – who plays matriarch Violet – feel about being in the sex-scene spotlight? “I think it’s important because my age is quite a large demographic of our audience – and we’re not dead after a certain age. It’s quite nice to represent that,” she says. “It was a lot of fun to do but I have to admit, I panicked beyond belief when I read the storyline and was quite taken aback by it. I found out in a costume fitting because they were kitting me out for a bedroom scene so that really threw me.” 

Gemmell has been one of the most constant characters throughout the series. “There are so many of us now that we all dip in and out – I may say nothing at all next time,” she explains, which I take as a nod to the much-missed Jonathan Bailey, Phoebe Dyvenor and Regé-Jean Page. But, with this season marking a significant new chapter for Violet, it seems unlikely Gemmell will be going anywhere for a while. With five of her seven fictional children living their happily ever afters, she says: “When you’re given a life outside of just drinking tea and going to a ball, you get the chance to develop a character.”

In season four, we see her transform from doting mother to a woman with her own desires thanks to love interest Lord Marcus Anderson, Lady Danbury’s brother, played by Daniel Francis. Did Gemmell know intimate scenes were on the cards? I say I recall her mentioning the idea was bubbling away for Violet in the 2023 spin-off, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. “Yes, and I also said I would never get my arse out for anyone so I managed to keep to that one,” she laughs. 

“Daniel and I had a conversation about it and everybody was completely respectful, about what I was prepared to do and what I wasn’t. I’m over 50 and I don’t need to see myself in certain scenarios and I'm sure no one else does either,” says Gemmell. “He’s far more exposed than I was. The poor lad had more on his plate than I did. But the premise of the storyline was lovely for the pair of us to do and, although we were quite nervous, the day was a lot of fun and we laughed a lot. 

“There’s nothing remotely sexy about a love scene; it’s all about how you look and where you hold your arm, someone will come along and say don’t do that it looks s***. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Perhaps more importantly, though, Violet’s budding romance sets out to prove there is life and love after loss – a distinctive new chapter for a widow we have seen fondly remembering her late husband, Edmund, throughout the past three series. “In the books, she never meets anyone else and I was quite adamant that whatever way they wanted to go with the storylines, we had to honour the books in some way,” explains Gemmell. 

“Throughout the storyline Daniel and I have, I wanted to be very clear that we came with baggage and that our love was with someone else, or certainly mine was, and that this was a new chapter. We have deviated from the books but I think it’s important to stay as intrinsically true to them as we possibly can with artistic licence.” 

In turn, then, this idea of moving on instead of mourning brings Bridgerton into the modern age, and also represents a modern woman. “Well, we all come with baggage, don’t we? And it’s quite nice to see that baggage occasionally.” Talking of, who, out of her children, will be next in the spotlight? I suggest Eloise to which Gemmell responds coyly: “Well, we haven’t completely gone in sequence so who knows? 

“Eloise and Hyacinth aside – they’re both quite unruly children in different ways – the boys are the ones who are the most difficult to [match make]. Perhaps not Colin but then Colin doesn’t see what’s right in front of him. The rakes of my clan, Anthony and Benedict, are the hardest [work].”

Season four is based on the books’ Cinderella story, and seeing a relationship blossom despite differing classes: high society, Benedict, and housemaid, Sophie Baek, played by Australian actress Yerin Ha. “It's good to have a perspective of ‘downstairs’ because there’s only so many diamonds you can buy and balls you can go to,” says Gemmell. “It’s a storyline we all know and love, and I had such lovely scenes with Luke’s character. I really relish all the family scenes with my kids because we just mess around. I’m sure we get on the crew's nerves.”

With the last four episodes available to watch from tomorrow – and it being anyone’s guess how many Bridgerton-starved months we have ahead of us – for Gemmell, it’s not about breaking records, but about savouring every last moment of season four. “The last episodes feel like they touched on more serious issues. For Violet personally, it’s nice seeing a middle-aged woman having her moment in the sun. But it’s really Luke and Yerin’s season and I hope people enjoy it. It’s Bridgerton – everyone will smile at the end, I can guarantee that.”

Bridgerton Season 4, Part 2 is available to stream on Netflix on 26 February 2026. 

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