As far as opening scenes go, the first few seconds of the steamy new British drama Rivals are, well, unrivalled. Without giving too much away, it involves two perfectly formed, naked buttocks belonging to one of the rivals, Rupert Campbell-Black (played by Alex Hassell), in the bathroom of the Concorde. Yes Rivals really opens with a bang.
No wonder it’s being billed as the raunchiest show on television.
Adapted from the novel by Jilly Cooper, the series is firmly rooted in the hedonistic 80s, following the power hungry social elite with the excessive world of independent television as the backdrop. It chronicles the rivalry of two men: Campbell Black, an ex-Olympian and now Tory MP, and TV executive Lord Tony Baddingham, played by David Tennant.
It’s packed with sex and nudity, it’s silly and over-the-top with a killer soundtrack. What are you waiting for?
What is Rivals about?
Based on the bestselling book by Jilly Cooper, Rivals is set in 1986 in the fictional posh county of Rutshire and follows Rupert Campbell-Black, a notorious rake and former Olympic showjumper turned Tory MP. He joins forces with his new neighbour, TV presenter Declan O’Hara to overthrow local unscrupulous television magnate Lord Tony Baddingham by trying to take his TV franchise away from him.
It’s every man and woman for themselves – both in and out of the bedroom – in this backstabbing world where you need a spreadsheet to keep up with who is sleeping with who.
Who is cast in Rivals?
The cast of Rivals TV series is a who’s who of British and Irish actors and while they may not be household names, there faces are oh so familiar.
David Tennant (Doctor Who, Broadchurch) stars as ambitious TV station controller Lord Tony Baddingham. Tennant has said he was convinced to join the show by his wife, Georgia. “It wasn’t something I had a great previous knowledge of, but Georgia knew the books from her teenage years and knew that this was going to make sensational television,” he told The Sun.
In order to expand his media empire, Tony poaches hard-hitting BBC journalist Declan O’Hara, played by Aidan Turner. The 41-year-old Irish actor, who starred in Poldark, told The Times there was so “much sex on our show, we have to have two intimacy coaches. TWO!”
Lothario Rupert Campbell-Black, Lord Tony’s arch rival, is played by Alex Hassel, and let’s just say if you haven’t seen him before, you probably won’t forget him after this. And what you see of the 44-year-old actor is all him. “I wouldn’t have done the job if I was particularly shy about my body,” he told the The Times.
Also in the cast is Nafessa Williams (Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody) who plays Cameron Cook, a ferociously talented American TV executive, Victoria Smurfit as Maud O’Hara, a former actress and Declan’s wild wife, and Bella Maclean (Sex Education) plays Declan and Maud’s strong-willed elder daughter, Taggie.
Will there be a Season 2 of Rivals?
Aidan Turner says he has “never wanted a season two of anything more in my life,” and we couldn’t agree more. As of now, Disney has not announced if there will be a second season, with the first only just going to air. But there’s plenty of source material out there. Jilly Cooper wrote 11 books in this series and Rivals is only the second so the signs are good.
Where can I watch Rivals in Australia?
If you want to watch Rivals, it is now streaming now exclusively on Disney Plus.
Stream Rivals on Disney Plus from $13.99/mth.
