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How one role changed TV and Hollywood forever – according to stars from Nicole Kidman to Jonathan Bailey
Sex on TV and film has changed dramatically in recent years thanks to one specific behind-the-scenes job.
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- Minnie Wright
Published: Thursday, 23 July 2026 at 7:00 am
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It was the talk of Hollywood in the wake of the #MeToo movement but intimacy coordinators have been a part of the industry for many years – they've just become much more commonplace since the reckoning that began in 2017.
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Much like a stunt director, this role choreographs and assists in the creation of scenes for TV and film – but specifically those involving sex, nudity or intimacy. They work with actors and productions to ensure everyone is protected and comfortable (both physically and emotionally), liaising to establish and communicate boundaries and securing consent.
Hollywood has mixed feelings when it comes to the experience of working with intimacy coordinators, but they have nonetheless become an essential and fairly ubiquitous part of the industry. While some actors have questioned the need for the role, or raised concerns that it might negatively impact their performances, many more have advocated for their inclusion in filming, speaking out in staunch support by opening up about their own positive experiences.
From Nicole Kidman to Jonathan Bailey, Mary Elizabeth Winstead to Rebecca Ferguson, a slew of stars have shared stories of working with intimacy coordinators with Radio Times.
There are no blurred lines
Nicola Coughlan
"I'm the biggest fan of intimacy coordinators. They’re imperative and brilliant," Nicola Coughlan told Radio Times last year. "Lizzy Talbot, who worked on Bridgerton, was so phenomenal.
"It's dealt with like a stunt, so it's left in your hands, but you never feel like things are going to go awry or that you don't know what's going to happen next. You leave the set feeling empowered and good, which is what everyone should leave their work day feeling like. There are no blurred lines, it's not scary."
Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma and Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton. Liam Daniel/Netflix
With its abundance of steamy, sexual scenes, Bridgerton's Simone Ashley has also addressed the role of the intimacy coordinators and the part they play in supporting actors on set, saying she wasn't nervous and filming intimacy for the Netflix series.
"I am [...] confident that I can speak up if I’m not feeling comfortable with anything on set. We were in a very safe environment and we worked with an incredible intimacy coordinator who encouraged us to portray what it is for the female character to experience pleasure," she told Radio Times before the release of Bridgerton season 2, which she led alongside Bailey.
When you have intimacy coordinators, it’s very helpful for directors, actors and crew
Nicole Kidman
Bailey also commended Bridgerton's intimacy coordinator and the methods they now employ to maintain professional boundaries, comfort and consent: "It’s amazing how that whole industry has just come on, even in a year. There are new tricks to the trade – little cushions – and it’s amazing what you can do with a half-inflated netball.
"If there are two people doing a sex scene, the rule is they must have three barriers separating them and there are certain acts where a half-inflated netball can allow for movement without having to connect physically. It’s pretty silly really and we have some hilarious moments, but it makes it less awkward."
In 2024, Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winner Kidman lent her voice to the cause by arguing why intimacy coordinators are so important on film and TV productions.
"I was raised by a feminist mother," she told the Radio Times podcast. "And I’ve worked in the field of violence against women for the UN for decades now – part of what we were always advocating for is protective laws. Once you can say, 'This is not OK and it’s illegal,' structures can be put in place.
"It’s still not infallible, but at the same time, when you have intimacy coordinators, it’s very helpful for directors, actors and crew.
"We [as actors] want to explore things and have the ability to release into what we do – because so much is emotional and unusual and weird. We want the weirdness. We don’t want to homogenise things. As soon as you start to go, 'We can only do this and that,' those rules get a little restrictive. We can do intimate scenes, but with respect, structure and remembering the human being."
We probably would have said it wasn't necessary
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead has even backed the use of intimacy coordinators for filming scenes with her real-life husband Ewan McGregor.
The pair co-starred in A Gentleman in Moscow for Paramount+ in 2024, with the Scott Pilgrim vs The World star telling us at the time how comfortable it was to have such "complete and total trust" in her acting partner.
McGregor first told Radio Times that, despite their relationship, an intimacy coordinator was used for their romance scenes, saying it was "necessary" to ensure the crew felt safe and comfortable, as well as the actors. He likened the role to that of a choreographer for dance sequences.
Winstead later confirmed that the decision hadn't been theirs but supported it and voiced her confidence in intimacy coordination for the future of film and TV production, emphasising its importance for younger or more inexperienced actors.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Anna in A Gentleman in Moscow. Ben Blackall/Paramount+ With Showtime
"I think, for us, we probably would have said it wasn't necessary," she said. "But it was something that was brought on board, it was a choice made by the studio. It was my first time experiencing working with an intimacy coordinator and even though, for us, it might have seemed a bit over the top – like, obviously, we're comfortable with one another, we're married – it still was great to know that that's kind of the future.
"It was an incredible thing to have that comfort of knowing this is what film sets are going to be like now, especially for young actors coming up who might feel uncomfortable speaking out when they feel something isn't right. Just to have somebody checking in and saying, 'How is this level of comfort for you?'
"And it wasn't just about Ewan and I, our interaction, but also about what clothing is going to be shown or not shown? Or how much skin do you feel comfortable showing? All of those things that, when I was a younger actress, I found so difficult to have those conversations because I never had anyone on my side. So I think that that's just going to have a huge impact," she added.
Psychological (and steamy) thriller The Couple Next Door (2023) was another production to lean on an intimacy coordinator to ensure comfort and safety.
Speaking about the experience, Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark) told Radio Times it meant "everybody felt comfortable". "The way that the sex scenes are shot isn’t necessarily what you would expect," she added. "I was keen to get across [the idea] that you can make something just as sexy by implying it.”
Actors note how much having an intimacy coordinator can change the process and the experience of filming sexual or intimate scenes positively but there are also some misgivings about the use and role.
For me, it’s very off-putting
Rebecca Ferguson
Earlier this year, Dune and Silo star Rebecca Ferguson opened up about her own approach to intimate scenes in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, admitting she finds working with an intimacy coordinator "off-putting".
"I think it’s wonderful that we can have intimacy coordinators and sometimes they are needed, but for me, it’s very off-putting and it makes me feel very uncomfortable because I have enormous boundaries and I can verbalise them," she said.
"So we could sit down and say, what do you need to feel safe? What do I need to feel safe? And then she could step out of the scene."
Ferguson, who shared intimate scenes with Cillian Murphy in the film, added: "I had called Cillian and asked him how he wanted to work. It sounds so silly, but I said, 'I’ve studied your sex scenes…' And he went, 'That’s really weird and awkward.' And I went, 'I know, but bear with me. This is not just a regular sex scene. This is not us getting our kit off, getting on with it, bish bash bosh. This is a moment of release. This is a moment of intimacy, there’s magic.'"
People feel like they’re being accused of something they haven’t even done yet
Emily Atack
Rivals star Emily Atack said she's "seen people roll their eyes about them and say, 'I don’t need one,'" adding: "There’s a defensiveness about it, because they feel like they’re being accused of something they haven’t even done yet. Intimacy coordinators are there for support if you feel uncomfortable, whether you’re a man or a woman."
Rivals writer and executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins, meanwhile, said sex is a major part of the show and that they take it seriously – even for the less serious scenes.
"It’s a very big part of Rivals and we celebrate it in all its forms," he explained. "So, we’re incredibly rigorous with ourselves. We have conversations with actors who are going to be in those scenes, we have amazing intimacy coordinators, and a lot of homework and prep go into even the silly sex scenes."
It feels like executives taking control away from film-makers
Michael Douglas
Famously having starred in erotic thrillers like Fatal Attraction, Michael Douglas voiced his mixed feelings about developments in the TV and film industry, telling Radio Times in 2024: "It’s interesting with all the intimacy coordinators. It feels like executives taking control away from film-makers – but there have been some terrible faux pas and harassment.
"Sex scenes are like fight scenes, it’s all choreographed," he continued. "In my experience you take responsibility as the man to make sure the woman is comfortable, you talk it through. You say, 'OK, I’m gonna touch you here if that’s all right.'
"It’s very slow but looks like it’s happening organically, which is hopefully what good acting looks like."
Elsewhere, Bridgerton's Coughlan noted the "backlash from actors of an older generation saying they don't get why intimacy coordinators are there or why they want them".
"It's not poo-pooing the way that things used to be done or to shame anyone, but it just makes you feel so much safer and in control," she insisted.
Netflix's Sex Education, which aired from 2019 to 2023, has been lauded for its portrayal of sex, sexuality, intimacy and sexual and emotional boundaries. Lead intimacy coordinator on the series David Thackeray told Radio Times he understands actors' criticisms and concerns about his role.
"It's the typical thing, because when I trained as an intimacy coordinator, before it was established, the fear was that ‘is this going to really just be a bit of health and safety? Is it going to get in the way of acting, or directing? Is it going to get in the way of a process?’
"But once you've gone through it, once you've actually worked with an intimacy coordinator, and had a brilliant process where you can go, ‘Oh, I found so much more detail.' I can still respect what your acting process is, I still respect your directing process, and I'm just gonna give you a couple of tools to be able to go, ‘Oh, that's a lot easier, we'll just do that’.
"Or, ‘Wow, with having this open communication and consent, we can go even further’. And I won't have to be thinking about my scene partner in a way that I'm really worried about, when you've got an intimacy coordinator there and you've had that dialogue and communication."
After Sean Bean expressed his opinion that using intimacy coordinators would "spoil the spontaneity", saying in a 2022 interview that it would "inhibit" him, intimacy coordinator and founder of Intimacy On Set Ita O'Brien (who has worked on Normal People and I May Destroy You, among others) clarified things: "What [Bean] doesn't acknowledge is that they are acting like one would when working with a stunt coordinator on a fight.
"An actor would, of course, work very openly and collaboratively with a stunt coordinator to create a fight that looks flowing and spontaneous, understanding that there is potential for risk.
"It is of course great that the industry now understands the additional risks associated in the creation of an intimate scene, which ensures that an actor's requirements regarding nudity and intimate touch are honoured so that everyone can work with freedom and spontaneity.
"When you have clear choreography, the scenes become natural and celebrated as witnessed in dramas like Normal People and I May Destroy You."
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Authors
Minnie WrightDigital Growth and Acquisitions Lead
Minnie Wright is the digital growth and acquisitions lead of Radio Times. She has a background in TV, film, showbiz and music at a major national publication and a degree in Popular Music Journalism.
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