Mr Loverman’s intimacy co-ordinator says stars ‘exploring each other’s body’ mattered

The intimacy co-ordinator who worked on the BBC’s new queer drama Mr Loverman has explained why it was so important for the show’s leading stars to be at “ease with each other’s body”.

Based on Bernardine Evaristo’s novel, Mr Loverman follows Lennie James as Antiguan gent Barrington Walker as he approaches his 75th birthday, and his 60th year hiding a huge secret.

Despite being married to Carmel (Sharon D Clarke) for five decades, “Barry” has been having a life-long affair with best friend Morris de la Roux (Ariyon Bakare).

While the scenes between Barry and Morris are often quietly tender, there are kisses, and several passionate moments in the bedroom.

Alongside director Hong Khaou, the scenes were orchestrated by intimacy co-ordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt, who is known for his work on Red, White & Royal Blue, Sex Education, and, most recently, Matthew López’s new play, Reverberation. 

James recently said that he and Bakare had to kiss the first day they met, but Hunt has told PinkNews that a lot of work goes into making the scenes come alive.

It’s true that actors in TV and film often have to go from “nought to 100 with intimacy” but “it’s not just jumping in”, he said. “It’s establishing a comfort and reality and ease with each other’s bodies as much as possible, particularly for Mr Loverman, where we’re trying to portray people [who] have known each other for most of their life.”

The process included exercises around “boundaries of touch”, such as working out exactly where on each other’s body they would touch, establishing what worked and what didn’t, and recognising what would be deemed “usual” for the characters, considering their long history together.

“We did that process of exploring each other’s bodies in [an] exercise setting, to build up to finding detail in it and truth in it,” Hunt continued. The exercises included exploring breathing and tapping into the physical energy and chemistry between the characters and the actors, “then you can build into talking through the kiss”.

Hunt went on to explain: “A lot of this is talking about it. It’s being like, ‘How does that feel? What works for you, for the characters? Is that how they kiss?”

The specific connection between James and Bakare was important because of the circumstances in which their characters find themselves. The relationship has a specific dynamic, considering it is told largely through stolen moments and hidden, behind-closed-doors scenes, but they had to have an intense familiarity after known each other for so long. 

“If you don’t believe it and buy it when they’re together, and if you don’t buy that connection, then you stop rooting for them, or you don’t buy into the whole show,” Hunt said.

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Mr Loverman is streaming in full on BBC iPlayer now. Episodes air in a double bill at 9pm on Mondays on BBC One. 

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.