It turns out, Claudia Jessie’s Bridgerton character, Eloise, wore massive muffs throughout season 3 in order to cover up a broken wrist.
“It was a Friday morning, and I got there it was like 8 a.m., we hadn’t even started filming,” Jessie, 34, recalled in an interview with Stephen Colbert on Friday, May 17. “To celebrate everyone’s good mood, I did a high kick.”
The actress went on to reveal that the “restricted” costume she was wearing at the time caused her to fall over backwards and break her wrist.
“Suddenly, I heard ringing go from this ear into this ear,” Jessie said, adding that she was “in so much pain” that she temporarily lost her hearing.
Because casts didn’t exist in the Regency era, which is when the show is set, the Bridgerton costume department resorted to covering up Jessie’s hand cast with an oversized muff — despite filming season three in the summer.
“That’s actually what we had to call the summer muff,” Jessie joked to Colbert, 60, adding, “We just made it up. We were like, ‘It’s the summer muff, of course.’”
Part 1 of season 3, which contained four hour-long episodes, premiered on Thursday, May 16. Part 2 is set to debut on June 13. In addition to an abundance of “summer muffs,” season three is filled to the brim with drama as viewers follow the unfolding love story between Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).
Although Jessie has starred in Bridgerton since its premiere in 2020, she told Colbert that she still gets nervous before filming a new season.
“I don’t feel like I’ve gotten there with enough self esteem to be completely confident every time I go back to work,” she said, adding, “I’m not quite there yet. I still get nervous before a take.”