Apple Tree Yard star Ben Chaplin says the secret to nailing saucy sex scenes is treating them like a ‘dance’
The actor has fine tuned his steamy on-screen romps with longtime pal Emily Watson
APPLE Tree Yard star Ben Chaplin says the secret to nailing saucy sex scenes is treating them like a “dance”.
The opening episode of the steamy BBC drama, featuring Emily Watson, 50, shocked audiences by featuring romps in a toilet, alleyway and cupboard inside the Houses of Parliament—just minutes after the 9pm watershed.
Ben, 47, who plays Watson’s on-screen love interest Mark Costley, revealed: “We work in a similar way and the sex scenes are definitely helped by being specific - by talking about what it is you want to communicate and do.
“I know it’s a clichéd metaphor about sex scenes, but they really are like a dance.”
The four-part series, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Louise Doughty, has already caused controversy with last Sunday’s graphic rape scene.
Dr Yvonne Carmichael, played by Watson, was seen being slapped across the face twice before being pinned down and raped on a sofa.
One viewer tweeted that it was “too much”.
And Rape Crisis England and Wales spokeswoman Katie Russell said many people will have been distressed by the “harrowing” scene.
Ben and pal Emma had been mates for a decade before working on BBC drama Apple Tree Yard.
He added: “I now understand one of the reasons Emily wanted me to do this was because we knew each other quite well.
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“We were not good friends, but we’ve known each other a long time and got on very well when we worked together, so I understand she wanted an actor she felt comfortable with.”
But fans of the show’s saucy scenes will be disappointed to hear that they have to wait a staggering 48 minutes to catch a glimpse of anything remotely steamy on Sunday night’s show—and it’s only a snog.
This week’s drama takes a darker twist as Dr Yvonne Carmichael is plunged into yet another nightmare.
Apple Tree Yard returns to BBC1 at 9pm tomorrow night.