Rivals, Disney+'s brand-new adaptation — based on the best-selling novel by Gloucestershire-based author Jilly Cooper — hits subscriber screens this week, on Friday 18 October 2024!
Starring David Tennant, Danny Dyer, Luke Pasqualino, Emily Atack and Aidan Turner — it promises sizzling drama by the horsebox-load.
Taking place in the fictional county of Rutshire, the series was filmed throughout Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds, with locations such as Chavenage House near Tetbury and Neston Park in Corsham, Wiltshire, both featuring.
The series, made up of eight episodes, follows the excess and antics of the 'power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England.'
Alex Hassell takes the lead as ex-Olympian, Tory member of parliament and 'dangerously charismatic' Rupert Campbell-Black, while David Tennant plays Rupert's 'ambitious and egotistical' neighbour, Lord Tony Baddingham, controller of fictional network, Corinium Television.
The series focuses on the long-simmering power struggle between the two men, as it threatens to boil over as they fight over the future of Corinium — with TV presenter Declan O'Hara, played by Aidan Turner, caught in the crossfire.
Jilly Cooper, who also executively produced the show, said: 'Featuring some of the best acting talent that the British Isles has to offer, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better ensemble cast.
'The minute we met with Alex we knew he’d perfectly embody my all-time hero, the iconic, racy, ruthless and devastatingly handsome Rupert Campbell-Black. Viewers are in for a treat!'
Jilly has written over 10 romance novels alongside Rivals, with most being best-sellers. Her latest release Tackle!, published in 2023, is a continuation of Rupert's story.
Though born into a Yorkshire family in Essex, Jilly now lives in the Cotswolds village of Bisley — she received an honorary doctorate at the University of Gloucestershire in 2009, a CBE in the 2018 New Year Honours list for her services to literature and a damehood in the 2024 New Years Honours for her services to literature and charity.
