Fans were swept away by the love story of Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) in the Netflix series’ second season, but it was a much slower burn than Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon’s (Regé-Jean Page) steamy romance in season one. Suffice to say, we wouldn’t have minded seeing a few more abs this time around!

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And Calam Lynch, who plays Eloise’s (Claudia Jessie) crush Theo Sharpe, wouldn’t have minded giving us a peek. In fact, He was “so up for” taking his shirt off on screen, he was actually brainstorming “any excuse for Theo to be topless in the show.”

Speaking with Page Six, he joked:

“I work out anyway, so I was like, ‘Finally, there’s a reason. I can show the world!’”

The 27-year-old went on:

“I was pestering [executive producers] Tom [Verica] and Chris [Van Dusen] and everyone on set being like, ‘What do you think? Maybe Theo’s topless in this scene? Maybe he’s doing the printing but he’s topless.’”

Unfortunately, as he noted:

“That certainly didn’t happen.”

C’mon, he couldn’t have shed his shirt to haul papers around the printing press? Or at least popped open a few buttons? Let the man show off! Perhaps he’ll get a chance to do so in the future? Weighing in on Theo’s chances with Eloise, he said:

“I hope they will [end up together]. I hope for Eloise’s sake they will because I think Theo would be fine because he’s come from difficulty, and while it would break his heart if they don’t end up together, I think he’d find a way to carry on. But I think Eloise needs to be challenged, especially in a romantic partner.”

Spoiler warning — but considering Theo is a character invented for the show (and remember, Eloise has her own book for the series to adapt), his chances aren’t great. The actor himself admitted to understanding “the appeal of it being a one-series arc.” Who knows, though, perhaps the show will go in a totally different direction than the books. As he said, the last scene between Theo and Eloise “leaves the door open” for him to return!

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If he doesn’t, though, he’ll probably still be okay: Calam comes from a family of performers, including uncle Jeremy Irons. And where abs fail, a connection to The Lion King is another way to pick up ladies, he shared:

“When I became of an age where I was interested in girls, I found a cool thing to do with it where, Simba is Scar’s nephew, right? So technically, I’m Simba. … Sadly, I was not successful. I was 14, give me a break!”

LOLz. Calam clearly knows what entices women! When it comes to shirtless scenes, though, we think the Bridgerton brass should listen to him!

[Image via Netflix/YouTube]