“I was elbow-deep in summer muff!”
Actress Claudia Jessie has revealed why the fifth Bridgerton sister, who she plays, Eloise is wearing a hand muff during season 3 of Bridgerton.
All seasons of Bridgerton start as the ‘ton begin their next social season, which occurs during the spring and summer months. So when Eloise was seen strolling with Cressida Cowper in episode one, the fluffy mitt she wore over her hands looked notably out of place.
Those in charge of dress design on set for Bridgerton are known to be meticulous and cunning with their work, every detail and colour is chosen for a reason – so why on earth did they chose for Eloise to wear something that was clearly out of season?
Well it turns out it’s all because of Claudia’s behaviour on set…
It turns out that Eloise had to wear the hand muff to conceal the cast Claudia had from breaking her wrist on set. The Birmingham-based actress explained how it happened during a live interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
“This season was interesting because I actually broke my wrist during season three,” Claudia started to divulge. She went on: “I’m an idiot it’s my own fault… it was like 8[am] we hadn’t even started filming – I feel so bad – to celebrate everybody’s good mood, I did a high kick.
“A celebratory high kick,” she exclaimed. “[But] the circumference of the dress is finite, it ends at some point…so when I put my leg up it was restricted immediately and then I went back.”
Claudia described looking at her co-star Hannah Dodd as she feel backwards onto her wrist, which snapped immediately – ouch! But of course during the regency-era there were no such thing as casts, so when Claudia returned to set from a brief hospital trip the Bridgerton bosses developed something they coined the ‘summer muff’.
During the regency-era winter muffs were worn to warm ladies’ hands, they eventually went out of style when women became more mobile, but they definitely were never needed during the summer months.
Claudia said that to make the ‘summer muff’ more believable they created lots and gave them to Bridgerton extras to wear in the background of her scenes.
Pointing to a production still of Eloise walking with Cressida at the start of the third season, Claudia exclaimed: “I’m elbow-deep in summer miff right there… if you will!”
