Heartstopper season three review – the sex scenes are handled as delicately as fine china

The stars of this wholesome teen drama are growing up – and hormones are running riot. But the show’s sensitive approach means it’s as beautiful and comforting as ever

The kids of Heartstopper are growing up, so this lovely, almost absurdly wholesome drama must grow up with them. The third season of the TV adaptation of Alice Oseman’s enormously popular graphic novels follows much the same path as its predecessors. The central couple, Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke), are still together – and considering taking their relationship to the next level. Viewers may be surprised to learn that, initially, this involves saying that they love each other. When Charlie’s sister, Tori (Jenny Walser), points out her shock that they haven’t done so already, she speaks for all of us. I was tempted to go back to check.

I wonder if this sense of the relationship being more advanced than it is speaks to the fact that some of the stars have broken out on to a far bigger stage. Watching it is a reminder that while Connor and Locke have already gone to Hollywood, this is a cosy, snug drama, resistant to almost all bells and whistles. The extent of its showiness is the occasional cartoonish flourish and a fondness for celebrity cameos. With Olivia Colman as Nick’s mother absent this season, Hayley Atwell and Jonathan Bailey have stepped in. Otherwise, this Netflix series would be right at home on the BBC (and I don’t mean that as an insult).

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