(Credits: Netflix)

On-set accidents are a risk that most actors are, by this point used to. Especially for those figures, like Tom Cruise, who perform their own stunt work, injuries and accidents are, by no means, a rarity. Certainly, there have been many examples over the course of film history when actors have been seriously injured and yet carried on within their roles. However, you might not expect the romantic regency world of Netflix’s Bridgerton to elicit that many accidents or injuries.

Since first debuting on the platform towards the end of 2020, Bridgerton has become something of a phenomenon; consistently topping the streaming charts and having a real-world influence over fashion and culture. Based very loosely on the traditions of regency-era London under George III, the series follows the exploits of the Bridgerton family as they navigate this complex, often confusing, world and attempt to form romantic bonds with fellow members of London’s high society.

A not-insignificant part of what makes Bridgerton so beloved among fans is the fashion of the show. Beckedecked in grand dresses, corsets, and ruffled cravats, the characters within the series manage to make centuries-old fashion look good again. For that, of course, credit is due to the show’s incredible wardrobe department, who have often had to work overtime to overcome production difficulties and accidents alike.

One such accident occurred during the filming of Bridgerton’s third series, which debuted on Netflix earlier this year. The excitement of the new series was too much for the Birmingham-born actor Claudia Jessie, who plays the fifth Bridgerton child Eloise. She later recalled on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, “It was a Friday morning. I love being at work. As you can tell, I’m quite an excitable person. I got there, it was like 8 am. We hadn’t even started filming, I felt so bad. And to celebrate everybody’s mood, I did a high kick. A celebratory high kick.”

There is nothing wrong with being excited at the prospect of work, especially if that work involves dressing up like a member of London’s high society during the 1800s. However, Jessie was so blinded by her excitement that the fact she was wearing a period-correct frock seemed to slip her mind. “The circumference of the dress is..finite, do you know what I mean?” the actor said, “It ends at some point. I wasn’t in a tracksuit where I could just be like, ‘woo!’ So when I put my leg up, I was restricted immediately.”

Continuing, the Bridgerton star shared, “I remember just looking at one of my co-stars, Hannah Dodd, all the way down. I landed on my wrist.” This injury would throw a spanner in the works of any production, but particularly one in which a modern medical cast would stick out like a sore thumb among the 19th-century surroundings. Luckily, the wardrobe department was on hand, “They had to make a muff,” the actor remembered, “That’s normally to warm your hands. […] They actually had to make loads, for the [extras].”

So, if you were puzzled as to why Eloise Bridgerton had a muff draped over her hands in the blistering Summer sun of 1800s London for much of series three, just know that the hand-warmer concealed a high-kick-induced injury.