News & Press

Saturday 25th October 

3pm The Forum – Auditorium 

Event details:

A fascinating look behind the scenes.

Event information:

Pioneering Intimacy Coordinator Ita O’Brien has managed the portrayal of love and sex scenes in groundbreaking television and stage for more than 40 years, including on Sex Education, Dangerous Liasons, It’s A Sin, Conversations with Friends and many others.

She’s set the gold standard with her on-set intimacy guidelines, and changed the portrayal of sex in popular-culture; increasing authenticity and reducing stereotypes. Now she’ll share behind the scenes stories, and use lessons from her work to explore how we can all improve intimacy and connection in our own lives.

Ita will explain how she helps actors create authentic sex scenes, and share how we can use these techniques to create greater connection in our own relationships, and improve society as a whole.

This event is followed by book sales and signing with Waterstones.

Age Guidance: 16+

Tickets: £10

Ticket link in socials bio

Let’s Talk About Sex (on Screen) – A panel discussion about portrayals of sex and sexuality in contemporary film and television, and what these representations can tell us about sexual politics and gender cultures today.

Sunday 19 October 2025 15:00

BFI Southbank, BFI Reuben Library

Reserve tickets via link in socials bio

From steamy scenes to awkward encounters, sex on screen has never been more varied or more revealing. From raw, honest moments to darkly humorous takes, this lively panel will discuss how contemporary film and television are rethinking desire, gender and power dynamics in ways that are bold, funny, messy and meaningful. With insights from filmmakers and cultural thinkers, we’ll explore everything from the rise of the intimacy coordinator to queer love stories, hook-up culture and beyond, and we’ll ask the question: What do current trends say about shifting norms around bodies, relationships and sexual pleasure?

Speakers/panellists

Billy Holzberg, co-author Bad Sex: Sexuality, Gender and Affect in Contemporary TV

Ita O’Brien, leading intimacy coordinator, creator of the Intimacy On Set Guidelines and author of Intimacy

Xuanlin Tham, author Revolutionary Desires: The Political Power of the Sex Scene

Hosted by Black Venus, founder of Sex and Rage, a sex worker and activist organisation resisting stigma and shame through sex education.

Absolutely thrilled to have been accepted to the Fearless Leadership programme at Women in Film and Television UK – thank you so much for bringing me into the team.

And what a team it is… This year’s cohort comprises 12 senior leaders from a variety of industry sectors, including: Emma Hardie – Executive Commercial and Brand Director, Aardman Animation Caroline O’Neill – Assistant Commissioner, BBC Julie Clark – Director of Production, ITV Studios Drama Liv Moss – Director of Digital Content, Banijay UK SIAN PRICE – Creative Director, Yeti Television Christina Angeloudes – Commercial Director, Big Talk Arabella Page Croft – CEO and Founder, Black Camel Tolu Stedford – Chief Executive Officer, Story Compound Rachel Arnold – Creative Executive, Sony Pictures Unscripted Kit Morey – (VP) Commissioning Editor Non-Scripted UK Originals, Channel5/Paramount+ Kate Davis AMPS – Head of Sound, Azimuth 

Looking forward to all the collaboration, learning and inspiration that I’m certain is coming our way!

– Ita O’Brien

Olivia Colman very kindly spoke about Ita this week, which was also picked up by USA Today, in reflecting positively on their previous work together on The Roses and Empire of Light. In particular, praising the advice Ita had given her during an intimate scene, to “imagine the sun is hitting your face”.

Ita responded on her socials, saying…”I really value Olivia’s honesty here (and thank you for the lovely shout-out in @usatoday) This is the very heart of Intimacy Coordination: supporting individuals to articulate their personal boundaries, and ensuring they are respected in the workplace. My role is never to push someone into intimacy, but to create a professional process where choice and consent are centred, so that actors can say yes with clarity, or no with equal confidence. In doing so, we not only safeguard the individual, but we also enable the work to be braver, more truthful, and created with integrity.”

Listen to the Podcast

Ita recently spoke with The Sunday Times about the Intimacy On Set Guidelines, and how our art should reflect humanity back on itself.

Read the Article

Delighted to be featured at the Festival of ENCOUNTERS | Ideas, art and conversations in Brixton spaces, from @vangoghlondon

WHEN: 16th September 2025
WHERE: GoHubStudio, 222 Brixton Rd SW9 6AH
TIME: 6:30pm
BOOK: Tickets are free but need to be booked via Van Gogh House’s website

A conversation between movement director and intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien and artist Ajamu X on intimacy from their individual perspectives and how we navigate or rethink the topic in our personal lives as well as more widely in society.

Ita recently shared her excitement about working with Ajamu X on Instagram: “I am really looking forward to our upcoming in-conversation event. His fearless work centring Black queer bodies, pleasure, and desire, promises a dialogue full of depth and provocation. I left our initial chat energised and know there is much more to uncover together. This is going to be a conversation worth joining.”

Between Saturday 13 September and Sunday 5 October, our inaugural Festival of ENCOUNTERS, a free-to-attend, large-scale series of events, featuring up to 40 talks and other kinds of encounters, by artists, writers, activists, musicians and thinkers, will take place in venues across the northern end of Brixton.

Alongside Van Gogh House, many other exciting locations including galleries, parks and community centres are hosting events. The Festival is inspired by serendipitous encounters with interesting people in unexpected places, bringing together exciting voices, thoughts and ideas to and from Brixton.

Event info

 Full episode featuring itaobrien_ is available on bbcsounds now
Thanks to everyone that’s watched the interview clips so far – they’re up to 500k on TikTok & 250k on Instagram already! Gratitude goes to @anoushka_md for a genuinely lovely experience.

Watch the Interview

“For the genuinely romantic depictions of sex on screen, actors and directors can face a myriad of challenges. Film sets are often packed, demanding, and tiring. It’s only in the last few years that a specified role to guide and coach actors for love scenes has become mainstream. Intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien worked on Netflix’s “Sex Education,” as well as HBO’s “Watchmen.” We attended one of Ita’s workshops in South London to find out how sex scenes are co-ordinated in movies.”

Watch Video

Ita attends the London Premiere of The Roses, staring Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon.

Providing the Intimacy Coordination for this film was a fantastic experience, and working with this group of actors was, as you’d expect, a total delight.

What a wonderful weekend workshop, exploring integrating the Intimacy On Set Guidelines into professional practice! Such a joy to be back in the SDH space, honouring the incredible Sarah Davey Hull whose presence is felt so deeply here.

Huge gratitude to Ian West @intimacy.360 for assisting Ita throughout the weekend – your support made the space feel even more held.

It was truly inspiring to share the room with people who had flown in from all over the world, gathering together on yoga mats and cushions to connect, explore, and learn. The energy, openness, and courage in the group was something really special

We’re feeling so inspired, looking ahead to future workshops over the coming months. Keep an eye out – there’s more to come…

Extending gratitude and a huge thank you to Jackie Wylie, the incredible CEO of the Scottish National Theatre @ntsonline, for an amazing in-conversation event with @itaobrien_ at @edbookfest last week, to discuss the key themes in Ita’s new book “Intimacy”

 It was an absolute pleasure to attend Royal Central School of Speech and Drama’s alumnae event at Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. This was a fantastic opportunity for our community to come together, celebrate the world’s largest arts festival, and showcase the incredible work that everyone was involved in at @edfringe
It also provided a joyful moment for Ita to reconnect with @cssdlondon inspirational Principal, Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE @josettebushellmingo

Ita spoke to Mishcon De Reya’s Academy Advisor Jan Holmes about her new book ‘Intimacy’, as well as her career as an Intimacy Coordinator, choreographing some of the most ground-breaking and vulnerable scenes onscreen, including in “Normal People” and “I May Destroy You.” ⁠

Watch Full Interview

The cast of The Agency Season 2, discuss with The Wrap, their positive experiences in working with Ita, and how using the Intimacy On Set Guidelines supported both actors’ well-being, and the efficiency of shooting intimate scenes.

Image credit – Michael Fassbender and Jodie Turner Smith in “The Agency”: Luke Varley/Paramount+ with Showtime

Read the Interview

Read Ita’s new feature in the London Standard, exploring how important authentic on-screen representation is for our own intimate lives

Read the Article

Maanya Sachdeva mentions Ita’s book “Intimacy” in a new article for FeMail

Read the Article

Ita is delighted to celebrate the release of We Live In Time on Netflix this week, having supported this production as Intimacy Coordinator. The birth scene with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield is a scene that Ita notes as one of her career moments she is most proud of.

Who are you doing the big life stuff with? Intimacy on Set is proud to have provided the Intimacy Coordination for #WeLiveInTime, which is out on @netflixuk now. Working with Florence Pugh on the birth scene, was a particular career highlight for Ita.

Watch on Netflix