Top 10 Awkward Sex Scenes From British TV

What initially promised to be a fun curry night goes disastrously wrong after Anthony’s childhood friend Lulu mistakenly reveals that his fiancée, Kate, has never had an orgasm. Kate confides in Lulu that she actually has, just never with Anthony, and that she lied to protect his feelings. However, at the end of the episode we’re subjected to an uncomfortable scene where it’s revealed the only thing that gets Kate going is crying: and it’s only when Anthony bursts into tears during sex that she can finally climax.

The second scene in a row from the acclaimed writer and comedy star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this is one of “Fleabag’s” finest moments. While in bed with her on-again-off-again boyfriend Harry, Fleabag decides to watch a speech by none other than former president Barack Obama on her laptop… and then she starts to masturbate. This is much to Harry’s ire, who storms out of the flat clearly struggling to come to terms with what he just woke up to – even though she attempts a cover up. The then-leader of the free world is certainly an unusual choice of material, though.

After washing up on a beach, the young Helene winds up in the company of the much older village Pastor, Edmund. She falls for what little charms he has and the two marry not far into the first episode of this series. It’s on their wedding night, however, that things take a turn for the worse when they attempt to consummate their union. Despite Edmund’s very uncomfortable rutting, Helene tells him “it’s not in”; he ignores her and continues what he’s doing anyway, seemingly oblivious to the fact that nothing is actually happening.

On one side of the estate, Finn has been attacked by devil-worshippers and made into Satan’s chief agent on Earth, whereas on the other side Alex is receiving a lung transplant from a man with an unusual power. The chaos culminates in Finn having turned everyone into an agent of Satan, before Alex corners him and proceeds to, in his words “shag the devil” out of him – using his inherited ability. But, while what's probably weird enough, it’s made even worse by the fact that Jess is tied up in the corner and has to witnesses the whole act.

It’s always a struggle for teenagers to find somewhere with some privacy to get up to no good, and this instance is no exception. While Rae is distracted learning that Finn is in fact a “sex wizard”, they both fail to hear her mother approaching. So, when she barges into the room and tells Rae to run down to the shop and get some cabbage, it’s not exactly ideal. But it gets worse than a mere interruption, when her mum then sits on the bed and begins crying about how she thinks she’s going through the menopause.

When Josie and JP have sex the very first night they meet, it’s no easy affair, as they have to first make the bed and then muddle through while he’s wearing a condom and she’s wearing a femidom – meaning neither of them can actually feel much of anything at all, apparently. Her attempts at dirty talk also leave a little to be desired. It’s probably still not as bad as Oregon’s attempt to sleep with a Tunisian student, though… Which ends in her snapping his frenulum and him getting deported.

Next, the attempted liaison of a vampire and a ghost goes as horribly awry as you might think. After three series, Annie and Mitchell become a couple, but as they attempt to give the whole romance thing a bit of a go they struggle in their attempts at consummation, leading Annie to have the brilliant idea for Mitchell to seduce a stranger so that she, using some ghost powers, can vicariously experience sex through her. Unfortunately, Mitchell’s bloodlust threatens to overcome him and he almost murders the poor girl, which is a real mood-killer for all involved.

The Wests, Shipmans, and every other main character all bunking together in this episode makes for an awkward breakfast nobody will ever forget. After a tense moment involving Pam’s ‘vegetarian’ sausages, the group begin to hear a distinct, rhythmic thumping noise from high above – while Gavin and Stacey are the only ones not around the table. They make desperate efforts to ignore the noise, which gets progressively louder, until Pam puts the radio on. It all climaxes when Gavin comes downstairs, completely oblivious as to why everybody’s staring at him.

While Jez’s new manager Cally telling him to stop right in the middle of sex is certainly embarrassing enough for him, it’s Mark and Dobby’s first not-so-romantic rendezvous in the stationary cupboard that takes viewers to uncomfortable new heights of awkwardness. Forced to watch Mark staring at himself in the mirror while Dobby rubs against him, it makes for a magnificent moment of unpleasant viewing – the like of which “Peep Show” is famous for. To top it off, after Mark ‘finishes’ he ends up running into his ex, Sophie, and work nemesis, Jeff, who naturally assume that he’s peed himself.

This is the standard all other awkward sex scenes aspire to. The ultimate in cringey coupling. And, though he’d probably hate it to be so, Will McKenzie’s pitiful attempt to pleasure Charlotte Hinchcliffe remains branded into British pop culture forever. After Will miraculously succeeds at attracting Charlotte’s intimate attentions, he ruins it all by pogoing up and down on her stomach for twenty seconds until she tells him to leave. It’s even worse than Simon’s attempt to lose his virginity, which ends in him screaming at and hitting his own manhood – much to his girlfriend’s horror.