Yasmin Finney has all the tea on Heartstopper’s sex scenes

In all the time we’ve been waiting for Heartstopper Season 3, it appears the characters have grown up behind our backs. Yasmin Finney, for one, has now confirmed that her character’s arc will explore sex—along with the complications that can arise for trans folks.

“I’m just going to start by saying there’s a lot of adulthood that starts to blossom this season,” Finney told host Tia Kofi on Episode 3 of Netflix’s ​​Heartstopper: The Official Podcast.

“Let’s just start with a big thing. Me and Tao have sex.”

Finney went on to explain that the sex scene is intended for all audiences, “so it’s PG-friendly to watch.” But that doesn’t mean the series shies away from the complex emotions that can attend sex, especially for a trans person.

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“You see the complications of being trans, and you see it’s not just easy to have those relationships and go deep into a sexual relationship with your partner straight away, especially when you’ve got gender dysphoria and all these complicated things that come with being trans,” Finney explained.

“So I think we really delve into all that and we educate a lot of the audience hopefully. It’s getting very real now.”

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William Gao described how viewers will see Tao and Elle approach their first time through communication and empathy. “For Tao obviously, he has this challenge because he’s never been in this situation before where someone he loves so much is struggling with something he can’t relate to in himself.”

“We really see Tao support Elle on the journey,” Gao added.

The recently released Season 3 official trailer alluded to the couple’s attempts at intimacy, with Elle telling Tao, “When you put your hand there, all my dysphoria just hit me.”

Finney also shared how she put so much of herself into those scenes—to the point that filming was an intense experience. “I actually got really emotional a few times on set,” she said. “I’ve never really gotten emotional before on set. I just had to have a moment to myself.

“As I’m more into this industry I’m starting to be a bit more of a method actor, and sadly for me, it’s really easy to relate to being alienated. It’s a lot, it’s very overwhelming to think of. It’s just really difficult – hopefully you’ll see that in my performance.”

Season 3 of Heartstopper releases October 3 on Netflix.