Hit series Rivals to return with an extended second series as filming begins
Set in the 1980s, with the backdrop of the Cotswolds countryside, the award-winning Disney+ drama follows the high-stakes world British television as careers, marriages and reputations hang by a thread when professional and personal lives collide.
Based on the best-selling novel by Dame Jilly Cooper, the second series will see David Tennant reprise his role as Lord Tony Baddingham along with the original cast including The Boys star Alex Hassell, Irish actor Aidan Turner and Black Lightning actress Nafessa Williams.
Danny Dyer will also return to play businessman Freddie Jones for which he won the British Press Guild Award for best actor and the RTS Television Award for supporting actor.
Throughout the fast-paced and emotionally charged first series, Dyer's character was seen to have a slow-burn romance with Lizzie Vereker, played by The IT Crowd's Katherine Parkinson who was nominated for a Bafta TV Award for supporting actress.
Dame Jilly, executive producer and Rivals author, said: 'I'm utterly sex-static filming for the second season is upon us.
'I'm delighted to be able to work with them again and for everyone to see what further mischief they all get up to!'
The first series of Rivals was released in October with eight episodes and received six nominations across the Bafta TV awards, along with a nod in the memorable moment category, for the moment Rupert Campbell-Black (Hassell) and Sarah Stratton (Emily Atack) were caught playing naked tennis.
Lee Mason, executive director of scripted content for Disney+ EMEA, said: 'It's a real privilege to have this phenomenal team back together for season two of Rivals, from the exceptional cast, the remarkable creative team behind the camera – including the one and only Dame Jilly Cooper.
'Disney+ audiences are in for an absolute treat. Rutshire here we come…'
In December, Disney+ announced the show, which ended on a cliffhanger in series one, had been renewed for a second series.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Ed Sheeran's bitter family rift as star faces backlash for identity confession
Ed Sheeran's confession that he identifies culturally as Irish caused backlash online, but his heritage comes after his grandparents' love story which was portrayed in his hit tune, Nancy Mulligan Ed Sheeran has faced backlash following his candid interview with Louis Theroux, in which the singer claimed he 'identifies culturally' as Irish. The Shape of You star, 34, opened up to the journalist on his podcast, revealing his family's heritage. Ed, who was born in Halifax and raised in Suffolk before moving to London to pursue his dreams, recalled his childhood holidays to Ireland. He explained to Louis how his dad, one of eight siblings, is from Belfast. He was born to Nancy Mulligan and William Sheeran. While Nancy was a Catholic from the Republic of Ireland, William was a Protestant who was born in Northern Ireland. The duo fell in love during the Second World War, with their connection causing tension on both sides of the family. Despite the furore from their families, Nancy and William enjoyed a marriage spanning almost seven decades. William died in 2013, while Ed mourned his grandmother's death in 2023, aged 98. The bitter fallout was Ed's inspiration behind his huge hit from 2017 titled after his grandmother. During her funeral, Ed's dad referenced the love story in his speech. He said: "Mum met Dad, a dental student, at a Guy's nurses' home party. Friendship turned into love, but the Northern Ireland Presbyterian side of dad's family did their utmost to end the relationship. "Their wedding was attended by only one family member – mum's twin sister Peggy. They lived above that dental surgery in South London with a growing family. Eventually five boys and three girls. Mum joked to us that she had originally wanted 11 children so she could feel the football or cricket team." Speaking of his heritage, Ed told The Louis Theroux Podcast. "I class my culture as Irish. I think that's what I grew up with. My mum's family is very, very small, it's her and her parents, and my dad's family is… he's got seven brothers and sisters. "We'd spend all of our holidays in Ireland. My first musical experiences were in Ireland, I grew up with trad music in the house. So I identify culturally as Irish, but I was obviously born and raised in Britain.". He added: "I do feel like my culture is something that I'm really proud of and grew up with and want to express. And I feel like just because I was born in Britain doesn't necessarily mean that I have to just be (British), there's loads of people I know that are half this or quarter this." He also admitted the country was "basically my second home musically". " I'd say Ireland is the place that I am most successful musically," he claimed. However, he was met with mixed response to his comments online. "They can have him," one Twitter /X user fumed. "Why can't he just identify as himself," asked another. There were comments of support too, though, with one user explaining: "It's not where you're born. It's your bloodline that determines what you are. "Cliff Richard was born in India. Is he Indian? You can be born anywhere in the world. That doesn't automatically make you part of that culture."
Time Out
an hour ago
- Time Out
Ithell Colquhoun: ‘Between Worlds'
Ithell Colquhoun didn't sit still, visually or spiritually. This exhibition attempts to make sense of a sprawling oeuvre that engages with an incredibly wide gamut of spiritual, religious and formal ideas. Though not always coherent, it reveals her to be an artist of immense talent and invention. Across her engagements with the occult, Hindu Tantra, Christian mysticism and the Jewish Kabbalah, Colquhoun's eye for composition remains a constant, and might be the best part of a sometimes confusing show. Born in 1906 in India, where her father worked in the British colonial administration, Colquhoun moved to Cheltenham at a young age and went on to study art at the Slade, where she developed an interest in the esoteric. She was a card-carrying surrealist until 1940, when the group's British leader E.L.T. Mesens declared that members shouldn't join other societies. A practicing occultist, she took her cue to leave. Throughout the exhibition, various strains of surrealism and ways of understanding the world serve as a kind of tasting menu for Colquhoun. Here, in a relatively small-scale restaging of her broader exhibition at Tate St. Ives, the jumps between various artistic mediums and grand ideas can be jarring. Spanning painting, drawing and a number of more experimental techniques, the diversity of Colquhoun's output seems to work against the constraints of the exhibition. What might be an expansive exploration often feels like a whistle-stop tour. Standout moments are deeply – if quietly – impactful. The painting Scylla (1938), for example, depicts two tubular and fleshy rocks emerging from the ocean. They meet underwater among a tangle of coral. It's as suggestive as it is strange, reflecting the Surrealist idea of a 'double image', where one thing masquerades as another. A phallic interpretation is tempting, but a second look yields something more elegant and subtle: a pair of legs emerging from the water, seen from above as though painted from the point of view of someone sitting in a bathtub. A transatlantic counterpart, perhaps, to Frida Kahlo's surrealist masterpiece What the Water Gave Me, which was painted in the same year. The formal virtuosity that Scylla demonstrates is constant through Colquhoun's practice. This clearly comes naturally to her, as is evident in some beautiful small-scale examples of her experiments with new techniques. The symmetrical, rainbow-coloured Rorschach tests yielded by her 'Stillomancy' technique and the ghostly shapes applied using Fumage – holding paper above a flame and painting with its smoke – are highlights. Elsewhere, a tarot deck is adorned with psychedelic abstract constellations formed by pouring brightly coloured enamel paint. Bonsoir (1939) is the work that best demonstrates this talent for composition. Across a grid of 42 small-scale, simplistic photographic collages (some comprising only one image), Colquhoun tells an ambiguous story of attraction between two women. She crops, clips and combines images with the keen graphic sensibility of a pop artist. Though this show might bite off more than it can chew conceptually, it succeeds in communicating Colquhoun's impressive abilities as an image-maker.
Time Out
2 hours ago
- Time Out
The restaurant with the best view in London, according to Time Out
Like a view with your vichyssoise? Then you're going to eat up our recently updated ranking of the 18 London restaurants with the best views. At the hallowed number one spot is Forza Wine at the National Theatre, which is situated in a prime position on the South Bank, meaning serious views of the Thames over to Embankment, as well as a food menu so good that the restaurant has also made it onto our 2025 list of the top 50 restaurants in London. 'Forza Wine's spot at the National Theatre ticks all the boxes,' we said. 'Cocktails, natty wines and seasonal small plates from their self-proclaimed 'Italian-ish' menu. A wraparound outdoor terrace with views of the South Bank. A spot at the top of a cultural institution, in a building loved by 1960s architecture pervs across the land.' New entries into the list include Gordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat, aka the highest restaurant in Europe, which is in seventh place. Lucky Cat opened earlier this year and is on the 60th floor of 22 Bishopsgate. The food? Fine. The views? Sensational. The Portrait by Richard Corrigan is at number two, which you'll find on the very top floor of the National Portrait Gallery. We said: 'Basically every London skyline landmark is visible at once from the bright, simple and airy restaurant space, and the menu is stonking, offering modern British delights with an emphasis on the light, fresh and seasonal.' Another gallery spot, the Tate Modern Restaurant, also features on the list. We also feature a couple of spots at ground level – you don't have to be in a skyscraper for a good view, you know. Pont de le Tour next to Tower Bridge is in at number 16, and Rick Stein's riverside joint in Barnes also makes the grade (number nine!)
