Bridgerton’s Yerin Ha reveals gross truth behind steamy staircase scene

Bridgerton star Yerin Ha has dished on the far-from-pleasant truth behind her steamy staircase scene.

Now, fans of the hit Netflix period drama have quite some time to go until part two of the long-awaited fourth season hits the streamer, so, while they wait, the cast has kindly offered them some behind-the-scenes admissions to tide them over.

The latest season focuses on Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and a mysterious woman, known as the 'Lady in Silver'. Things heat up when the two characters find themselves caught up in a whirlwind love affair after an intense encounter at the masquerade ball.

Benedict then makes it his mission to find out the young lady’s hidden identity, with viewers soon learning that she is actually a resourceful maid named Sophie Baek (Ha), working for the formidable lady of the house, Araminta Gun.

The pair enjoyed quite the X-rated staircase scene, following in tradition to Daphne and Simon's alfresco antics in season one, Anthony and Kate's gazebo getting-off in season two and the viral season three carriage scene featuring Colin and Penelope.

For those not in the know, the staircase scene takes place in episode four, seeing Benedict and Sophie share a passionate, climactic moment on the stairs at Bridgerton House.

While the scene may have looked incredible on-screen, the reality behind it was far less romantic as Ha and Thompson both fell ill before filming the scene.

"We were very mentally a little bit weak, a little bit nervous, my immune system was down," she told E! News about the scene.

Ha and Thompson have been very vocal with their thoughts on the scene which started off hot and heavy before fizzling out after Benedict asked the maid to be his mistress.

"It was like a slap in the face," Ha told Digital Spy, , before turning to her co-star to say: "It felt like that because when you were doing the scene, you were doing it with such passion and commitment and genuinely earnest."

Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson delighted Bridgerton fans with their steamy staircase scene (Netflix)

Describing how her character felt in the scene in further detail, she continued: "It's like a snap back to reality. She actually let her guard down too much, and she's like, 'Actually, we're from two different worlds. This is silly'. She's beating herself up again."

Discussing how Benedict was feeling in that moment, Thompson chimed in: "I think he's sort of blindsided [by her reaction]. I don't think he's like, 'What's wrong? Everything's fine'.

"He can sense that he's done something wrong, but there's sort of a blindness to him at that moment. I think he genuinely does think that this is an offer that will work and that he can have his cake and eat it."

Thompson added: "I love it because it's such a surprise for a character that feels so easygoing.

"It's sort of like a more anxious side of him which we haven't really seen, so I think it's really nice. It's nice because it completes the character in a way. You're like, 'Where are his real failures or real vulnerabilities?', and so that's what you get to see up front and centre."

Bridgerton is currently available to stream on Netflix, with the second part of season four dropping on 26 February.