Shock as police arrest actor on set of Disney+ hit show Rivals moments after performing in scene with Danny Dyer

Daily Mail​

12 hours ago

Police arrested an actor on the set of hit TV show Rivals moments after he performed a scene for the highly-anticipated new series with Danny Dyer, it has been revealed.
Officers swooped on the grounds of Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, where TV extra Nigel Adams, 45, was hauled away in handcuffs by six cops in front of shocked cast members.
Adams had been performing a polo scene with former EastEnders star Dyer for the second series of the Disney+ show, which is an adaptation of the 1988 Jilly Cooper novel Rivals, on June 4.
But around an hour later, two police cars arrived at the scene and arrested Adams, who was still in costume, on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm.
The TV extra, also a supporting actor on BBC 's Casualty and Doctor Who, is accused of attacking an ex-girlfriend at a house in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset. Police were called to the address at 2am on May 31.
Officers from Avon and Somerset Police wanted to quiz Adams in connection with the incident and are understood to have found him at Berkeley Castle after they were tipped off that he was filming the new series of Rivals.
They swooped on the scene shortly after Dyer, who plays loveable electronics businessman Freddie Jones, had filmed a polo match scene.
Adams spent two nights in a police cell before he appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court on Friday charged with assault causing actual bodily harm. He made no plea and was given conditional bail until he returns on July 7.
A source told The Sun: 'It was very dramatic. Everyone was in their costumes and Danny was filming this polo scene when an hour later police suddenly turned up to arrest one of the extras.'
It's understood Adams, who was playing a role of a polo match spectator, looked shocked as he was detained.
Adams, from Locking, Somerset, is a bricklayer by trade but has been increasing his work in TV, also starring as an extra in the House of the Dragon and The Forsyte Saga.
In 2022, he also appeared in Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher, starring Ray Winstone - whom he shared a photograph alongside on his social media at the time.
Happy Prince, the production company which films Rivals, told The Sun: 'On the 4th June, the police visited the set regarding an unrelated matter involving a supporting artist.
'Production co-operated with the police. We do not have any further information as it is not connected to Rivals or to our production.'
Set in 1986, Rivals follows the cut throat world of television, including the tense rivalry between Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant).
Nafessa Williams, who plays ambitious American TV executive Cameron Cook, and Aidan Turner, who plays chat show host Declan O'Hara, were this week pictured filming for the new series.
Rivals became a huge hit with viewers and many were desperate to know if there would be a second series.
Then back in December 2024, the renewal was confirmed and in May a first look at the new series was shared on social media.