She reportedly quit her role in the raunchy hit drama The Affair because there were too many ‘gratuitous nude scenes’.
And now Femail can reveal that British actress Ruth Wilson did indeed put in quite the performance, with a grand total of 21 sex scenes across four seasons, which charts her waitress character’s affair with a married man.
In a single episode in series one, the Golden Globe winner, 37, had to act in five racy scenes with her co-star Dominic West.
Dominic himself also put in a sterling effort, featuring in a total of 24 sex scenes across four seasons, including their very first encounter when they have sex leaning over the hood of a truck.
Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that the British actress, 37, abruptly left the hit TV drama due to concerns over numerous gratuitous nude scenes.
Showrunner Sarah Treem was accused of being ‘tone deaf’ to actors’ complaints about nudity by insiders, and allegedly cajoled them into performing sex scenes like ‘a man from the 1950s’.
Yet the Golden Globe winner’s raunchy scenes throughout the seasons she appeared in decreased from 13 in series one to just one in her fourth and final season.
Femail can reveal that British actress Ruth Wilson did indeed put in quite the performance, with a grand total of 21 sex scenes across four seasons, which charts her waitress character’s affair with a married man
Ruth didn’t appear in season five because she abruptly left the show. It has since been said she quit due to a ‘very toxic work environment’, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
While her departure was initially blamed on a lack of pay parity, the star reportedly left amid disagreements over how often she was expected to strip off.
The magazine alleged a ‘toxic’ on set environment saw industry standards about sex scenes ignored, pressured actors to perform gratuitous nude scenes and then tried to dismiss the issues when complaints arose.
The Golden Globe-winning actress reportedly refused to perform one shocking aggressive sex scene where her character was forced up against a tree at a yoga retreat after saying it was ‘rapey’, meaning a body-double had to be called in.
Sex scenes from season one to four
Season One
The very first sex scene in the affair features Dominic West’s character, Noah, bending Ruth Wilson’s character, Alison, over the hood of a truck
Ruth’s character is seen sleeping with her first husband as they demonstrate the emotional distance between them both
Ruth and Dominic during a passionate clinch in one of their very first sex scenes for The Affair
Ruth and Dominic realise their passion for one another shortly after meeting and start having steamy relations (pictured)
This sex scene was only just beginning when Dominic’s character got interrupted with several text messages from his current wife
Dominic and Ruth during a nude scene as their characters hid from their spouses for a romantic weekend away together
It was all about the action in season one with the duo getting intimate in nearly every episode
The two enjoy an intimate shower after discussing the status of their relationship and where they see it going
A tumble in the sheets was on the card again for this couple as they neared the end of their successful first series
Ruth’s character Alison enjoys a steamy kiss with her husband Cole, played by Joshua Jackson, during the show
The characters share a giggle and a laugh during another round of sex as they stay at an expensive hotel during their affair
Season Two
Despite viewers following Ruth and Dominic’s characters as they have an affair together, season two offers only four risqué plays with the former, and five with the latter
Noah (played by Dominic) and Alison (portrayed by Ruth) spice it up and change their usual destination of the bedroom for a swimming pool
Declaring their love for one another yet again, the couple share a steamy round of sex. The pair had been discussing their future plans
Wanting to prove he’s in control and that Alison does in fact love him after the pair have a disagreement, Noah violently takes his lover against a tree
SEASON THREE
Things hot up with Alison (played by Ruth) and her former husband Cole (portrayed by Joshua Jackson) at the beginning of season three
Ruth pictured in one of her steamy scenes during season three. She sleeps with her former husband, who she shares a daughter with
SEASON FOUR
In series four, episode nine, Alison (played by Ruth) shares a steamy sex scene with new lover Ben (played by Ramon Rodrigue)
On set she also allegedly complained about the disparity between how often male and female characters were expected to be naked, saying ‘why do you need to see me and not more of him?’
While performing sex scenes, insiders have also alleged there were ‘people there who didn’t need to be’ and that monitors were ‘in plain view’ during the performance.
However, when Ruth expressed her concerns, THR reports that she was ignored and labelled ‘difficult’.
But The Affair’s showrunner Sarah Treem has since hit back at claims she forced Ruth to take part in the nude scenes for the show.
Discussing the claims that the actress quit the show because she felt pressured by the writer, 39, Sarah declared to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday that she has ‘always been a feminist’ and was ‘not a manipulative person.’
Ruth and Sarah were reportedly at odds over the show’s nudity and the direction of the actress’s character.
The showrunner was accused of being ‘tone deaf’ to her complaints about nudity, and cajoled them into performing sex scenes like ‘a man from the 1950s’.
She was said to have told Wilson ‘everyone is waiting for you’ and ‘you look beautiful’ in an attempt to get them on set while naked for the scenes.
But Sarah denied the reports while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, as she said: ‘I would never say those things to an actor. That’s not who I am. I am not a manipulative person, and I’ve always been a feminist.
‘I have devoted my entire professional life to writing about and speaking to women’s issues, women’s causes, women’s empowerment and creating strong, complex roles for women in theatre and in Hollywood, on- and offscreen.
She continued: ‘The idea that I would ever cultivate an unsafe environment or harass a woman on one of my shows is utterly ridiculous and lacks a grounding in reality.’
Inappropriate: Though Ruth knew that nudity would be involved when she signed onto the project, she is said to have been bothered by ‘frequency and nature of certain nude scenes’ which she deemed to have little purpose other than to be ‘titillating’
Since leaving the show Ruth has told reporters she isn’t ‘allowed’ to talk about her departure.
However way back in 2014 around the time of the show’s first season, Ruth told the Mail On Sunday that filming multiple nude scenes had ‘put me off sex for life.’
‘I’m a British prude and dread any sex scene that has to be performed,’ she told the Mail On Sunday in 2014. ‘For an actor they are miserable and vaguely embarrassing. It’s put me off sex for life,’ she said.
But back then, she defended the show, explaining that she didn’t see the sex as ‘gratuitous.’
‘The sex isn’t gratuitous. I was intent on trying to tell a story within those scenes. It’s not just about the sex, it’s about what is going on in each individual’s mind during it. If it’s just for titillation I think it slows up a story.’
Obliquely addressing her exit during a 2018 interview with the New York Times, Wilson explained: ‘It isn’t about pay parity, and it wasn’t about other jobs, [but] I’m not really allowed to talk about it’ before going on to suggest the Times contact showrunner Sarah Treem in light of a ‘much bigger story’ behind it all.