THE Walking Dead aired a sex scene of eye-watering proportions as it returned from its mid-season break this week.

The AMC zombie drama sent shockwaves through viewers when Alpha (Samantha Morton) led Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) into a forest clearing before instructing him to strip naked.

Alpha and Negan had sex in the mid-season premiere
Alpha and Negan had sex in the mid-season premiereCredit: AMC

She subsequently ditched her own clothes, with the exception of her mask of rotting flesh mask – gross – before wrapping her arms around Negan and doing the deed.

Fans took to social media in revulsion at the rogue romp, with many branding the pair a match made in hell.

Now show boss Angela Kang had waded into the furore, claiming that the pair hooking up had been on the cards for a while in writing sessions.

“Yeah, we’ve been talking in the room about, ‘it feels like we’ve got to get to some sort of weird sex scene with them.’ But David Johnson, who wrote the script, he was like, ‘Okay, here’s my take on it,’” she told Entertainment Weekly.

Alpha kept her mask on during the romp
Alpha kept her mask on during the rompCredit: FOX

“And I was like, ‘This is so weird. I don’t know if I can air this. You know what? We kind of have to do this.’ I think it really tracks with who Alpha is.”

Kang explained that Alpha’s motivations were equal parts Darwinian and carnal.

“She’s very survival of the fittest and nature’s way is the right way. There is some hypocrisy in the things that she says sometimes, but I think that for the most part, she is a cult leader who’s a true believer of her own word,” she continued.

“To her, I don’t know, animals have sex. She probably has had sex with people over the years and it’s just sort of like this transactional thing, but I do think that she’s drawn to Negan and his strength.

The pair stripped naked in the middle of the forest
The pair stripped naked in the middle of the forestCredit: AMC

“He was very helpful to her at a time when she feels a little bit under siege. So there’s that. And then for Negan, she has him pinned, he’s a crass man.

“He says himself, ‘It’s been a long time.’ Their weirdness is something that we really have enjoyed exploring.”

Perhaps the main question on everyone’s lips was whether Negan genuinely found her Whisperer mask a turn on.

According to Kang, he certainly did, as she concluded: “Negan’s into some funky stuff.”

The Whisperers wear the faces of skinned walkers
The Whisperers wear the faces of skinned walkers

In the Robert Kirkman comics, upon which The Walking Dead is based, Negan ends up beheading Alpha after winning her trust.

Could the sex scene pave the way for him to take her out while she’s at her most vulnerable?

The Walking Dead season 10 continues next Wednesday on AMC in the US and on Fox the following day in the UK.

Past episodes are currently available to watch on Now TV.