Bridgerton star Simone Ashley puts on a leggy display in white mini dress as she attends photocall during the Monte-Carlo Television Festival

Evening Standard

Rating:

Vicky Jessop: ‘Steamy this is not. Watching it feels like seeing two teenagers fumbling their way through an awkward clinch. Is Bridgerton losing its touch? Francesca’s love affair with Lord John Stirling is snooze-worthy – all those painful silences! Yes, we get it, they’re shy!’  

The Telegraph 

Rating:

Anita Singh: ‘Aside from Penelope’s heaving bosom, though, this third series remains a dud. Her extensive sex scene with Colin has a cringe-making quality – think EL James’ Fifty Shades with all of the terrible dialogue but none of the nipple clamps. Away from the main couple, the plot barely exists.’ 

The Independent 

Rating:

Kate Rosseinsky: ‘The wheels are starting to come off the Bridgerton carriage – and the final two episodes will need to be pretty dramatic to get things back on track.’ 

The Daily Mail 

Rating:

Christopher Stevens: ‘Stars Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton have been promising for weeks that this time, in two newly released episodes, Bridgerton goes all the way. And they weren’t fibbing… though, for such an explicit sex scene, it was also oddly chaste.’ 

The Times 

Rating:

Carol Midgley: ‘I call Bridgerton the “toffs, t**s and titles” show, but here another t-word is at play — tenderness. Coughlan’s aforementioned breasts should get some kind of award for all the heaving they do. Good lord, they’re up and down in those frocks like a pair of airbags.’

Variety

Aramide Timudu: ‘The primary sex scene between Polin involving a full-length mirror and a chaise lounge is one of the sexiest things seen on television since Bridgerton Season 1. Fans may still gripe at the lack of sensual activity on screen, but this mirror section is absolutely intoxicating and beautifully done.’