'The Bold and the Beautiful' is casting actors' real-life partners as 'love-scene doubles' to prevent coronavirus spread

• Soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" resumed filming today amidst the pandemic. According to executive producer Bradley Bell, showrunners are taking precautions to prevent coronavirus spread on set.
• In addition to weekly temperature checks and limiting the amount of people who can be present on set, Bell said his team was enlisting actors' real-life partners to act as doubles in love scenes that require close contact.
• Though having sex without your live-in part is less risky than with someone outside of your household, you could still pass the coronavirus to each other.

In an attempt to prevent coronavirus spread on television show sets, Hollywood showrunners are casting unlikely doubles for love scenes — actors' real-life romantic partners.

In a June 16 interview with the Hollywood Reporter, "Bold & the Beautiful" soap opera producer Bradley Bell outlined his team's strategy for their first day back on set, June 17.

"We've been preparing for this over the last month, month and a half. We knew the day would come, so we've been modifying our spaces, modifying our studio, our booth, staying up to date on what the most important health and safety protocols are," Bell told THR reporter Rick Porter.

Those modifications include testing actors and the production team for COVID-19 at least once a week, keeping production team members at least six feet apart while filming, and limiting how many people can be on set at any given time.

Perhaps the most unorthodox COVID-19 policy is the casting of the actors' real-life romantic partners.

When an actor has a scene that involves sex or romantic touching, Bell said that actor's significant other will be used instead of the typical professional double they would cast.

"So if you see hands touching faces in close proximity from a wide shot, instead of a stunt double we'll have a love-scene double, where it will be the husband or the wife doing the actual touching," Bell said. "Then when we edit it together, it will look like our couple on screen."

For sex-specific scenes, Bell told Forbes they'll use blow-up dolls in wigs and makeup.

Though being in close contact with a live-in partner rather than one outside of your household can decrease your risk of getting sick with COVID-19, there's still a chance you could be exposed.

In March, New York City health officials told residents that masturbation was the safest way to get off during the pandemic. And in May, public health experts penned a journal letter warning that partnered sex acts of any kind come with a COVID-19-related risk.

Despite the risks, Bell said his team is ready to get back to work.

"They've been waiting for the world to open up, and now that restaurants are able to function, and salons, and businesses of all types are able to go back if they meet safety regulations, we feel we're safe to go," he said. "Everyone's excited and ready to start filming again."

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• Even sex with your live-in partner is risky during the pandemic, doctors say