Created by Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Laura Wade.
Rivals first premiered on 18 October 2024.
Distributed globally through Disney Platform Distribution, with Hulu handling U.S. streaming rights.
Rivals TV Series Review
Rivals is an entertaining drama series set in 1980s England.
The show follows rich and powerful people working in television, politics, and business while dealing with romance, rivalry, and family problems.
Season 1 focuses on the fight between Rupert Campbell-Black and Tony Baddingham.
Their rivalry creates drama, secrets, and many surprising moments.
The cast gives strong performances, especially David Tennant and Alex Hassell.
Season 2 brings more conflict, emotional stories, and new characters.
The relationships become more complicated, and the drama grows even bigger.
Overall, Rivals is stylish, funny, dramatic, and exciting for viewers who enjoy classic soap-style television stories.
CR Rating: 8/10.
Rivals Actors
Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black
DOB: September 7, 1980.
Bio: English actor from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and a co-founder of The Factory Theatre Company.
Trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, he first established himself through acclaimed stage performances before expanding into international television and film.
Role: Rupert Campbell-Black is a former Olympic-level showjumper turned Conservative politician and media-world aristocrat.
Charming, reckless, privileged, and emotionally restless, Rupert thrives on competition and scandal while carrying hidden loneliness beneath his confident exterior.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (13 eps).
Interesting facts: Hassell married fellow actor Emma King in 2011, and he has said Rupert is one of the more “suave” and “sexually active” roles he has played.
Notable Works: The Boys, Cowboy Bebop, His Dark Materials, The Tragedy of Macbeth.
David Tennant as Lord Tony Baddingham
DOB: April 18, 1971.
Bio: Scottish actor from Bathgate, West Lothian, widely regarded as one of the most versatile and recognizable performers of his generation.
Trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, he built an acclaimed career across television, theatre, film, radio, and voice acting.
Role: Lord Tony Baddingham is the manipulative managing director of Corinium Television in Rivals.
Intelligent, ruthless, and deeply controlling, Tony maintains power through intimidation, emotional pressure, and carefully managed influence.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (11 eps).
Interesting facts: Tennant has spoken about the show’s sexual politics and how much of the story is about people using sexuality for power or survival.
Notable Works: Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Good Omens, There She Goes.
Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara
DOB: June 19, 1983.
Bio: Irish actor from Dublin who trained at the Gaiety School of Acting before building an international career across fantasy epics, historical dramas, thrillers, and stage productions.
Turner first gained major attention through British television and fantasy franchises before becoming widely recognized as a leading man in period drama.
Role: Declan is a temperamental Irish journalist recruited from the BBC to host at Corinium.
He starts out frustrated and out of place, but once he sees how Tony operates, he becomes one of the key forces behind the newer rival company, Venturer.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (13 eps).
Interesting facts: Turner has spoken about enjoying the larger-than-life tone and theatrical energy of Rivals, particularly compared with some of his more restrained dramatic roles.
Notable Works: Poldark, The Hobbit trilogy, Leonardo, The Suspect.
Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook
DOB: December 4, 1989.
Bio: American actress from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who built her career through television drama, soap operas, crime thrillers, and superhero series.
A graduate of West Chester University, she first gained recognition in daytime television before breaking into larger network and streaming productions.
Role: Cameron is the American television producer Tony brings into Corinium, and she arrives determined to climb quickly in a male-dominated industry.
She is ambitious, sharp, and far more vulnerable than she first appears, which makes her one of the series’ most dynamic presences.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (13 eps).
Interesting facts: Williams has frequently spoken about representation, diversity, and visibility within television and film.
Notable Works: Black Lightning, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Black and Blue, One Life to Live.
Bella Maclean as Taggie O’Hara
DOB: November 14, 1997.
Bio: British/American actress born in New York City and trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
She has appeared in Sex Education, Silent Witness, and stage work at the National Theatre, but Rivals became her breakout mainstream role.
Role: Taggie O’Hara is the gentle but underestimated middle daughter of Declan and Maud O’Hara in Rivals.
Thoughtful, emotionally intuitive, and quietly resilient, Taggie often acts as the emotional center of her chaotic family.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (13 eps).
Interesting facts: Maclean has described Taggie’s journey as one centered on confidence, emotional maturity, and discovering her own voice beneath the glamour and scandal of the series’ world.
Notable Works: Sex Education, Silent Witness, Life in Firms.
Victoria Smurfit as Maud O’Hara
DOB: March 31, 1974.
Bio: Irish actress from Dublin whose long TV career includes Ballykissangel, Trial & Retribution, and Once Upon a Time.
She has a strong screen presence and is especially good at playing women with wit, vanity, emotion, and a sharp sense of self.
Role: Maud is Declan’s wife and a former actress who feels neglected in her new life.
She is flirtatious, complicated, and more emotionally restless than the polished social world around her wants to admit.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (10 eps).
Interesting facts: Smurfit comes from the well-known Irish Smurfit business family connected to the global packaging company Smurfit Westrock.
Notable Works: Ballykissangel, Trial & Retribution, Once Upon a Time.
Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton
DOB: December 18, 1989.
Bio: English actress, comedian, and television personality from Luton.
She is known for The Inbetweeners, panel and comedy work, and her more recent acting return in prestige drama.
Role: Sarah is the second wife and former mistress of MP Paul Stratton, and she has her sights set on being a television presenter.
She is socially sharp, ambitious, and very good at turning attention into advantage.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (11 eps).
Interesting facts: Atack has a son born in 2024 and has said Rivals was a major turning-point role for her.
Notable Works: The Inbetweeners, Almost Never, The Keith Lemon Sketch Show.
Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton
DOB: May 17, 1975.
Bio: English actor, writer, and comedian who built his career through British comedy, satire, and character-driven television drama.
Educated at the University of Cambridge, he first gained attention through sketch comedy and collaborative writing projects before expanding into acting roles across television and film.
Role: Paul is a Conservative MP in the middle of an adultery scandal and a larger mid-life crisis.
He is one of the show’s best examples of Jilly Cooper-style male vanity, because he looks powerful on paper but is falling apart in real life.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (10 eps).
Interesting facts: Jones began his career as part of the comedy group Dutch Elm Conservatoire, which helps explain his sharp comic timing.
Notable Works: W1A, Hunderby, Camping, The Casual Vacancy.
Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker
DOB: March 9, 1978.
Bio: English actress from Hounslow, London, widely respected for her work across comedy, drama, and theatre.
She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before building a career defined by emotionally intelligent performances and exceptional comic timing.
Role: Lizzie is a romance novelist and the neglected wife of James Vereker.
She is socially connected, emotionally underused, and one of the characters whose life changes most as she begins to rediscover herself through the chaos around her.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (11 eps).
Interesting facts: Parkinson is married to actor Harry Peacock and has two daughters. She has said in interviews that her Rivals character taps into a more romantic, observant side of her screen persona.
Notable Works: The IT Crowd, Doc Martin, Humans, Taskmaster.
Luke Pasqualino as Basil “Bas” Baddingham
DOB: February 19, 1990.
Bio: British actor from Peterborough who first became known through Skins and later starred in The Musketeers, Our Girl, Shadow and Bone, and Snatch.
He is good at playing characters with a mix of charm, recklessness, and vulnerability.
Role: Bas is Tony’s younger half-brother, a promiscuous local pub owner who adds mischief to the Baddingham family dynamic.
He is less polished than Tony, but that makes him useful in the show’s social, comic, and romantic chaos.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (10 eps).
Interesting facts: Pasqualino has spoken about how his Italian family background shaped his personality and social confidence growing up.
Notable Works: Skins, The Musketeers, Our Girl, Shadow and Bone.
Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones
DOB: July 24, 1977.
Bio: English actor, presenter, and television personality from Canning Town, East London, known for his distinctive screen presence and working-class charisma.
He first gained attention through British independent films and crime dramas before becoming one of the most recognizable faces on British television.
Role: Freddie is a self-made businessman in a loveless marriage who becomes drawn to Lizzie.
He is a key part of the show’s social and romantic crossfire, and his bluntness makes him one of the more entertaining men in the Rutshire circle.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (13 eps).
Interesting facts: Dyer has said Rivals gave him a chance to do something wildly different from his usual East End screen image.
Notable Works: EastEnders, Human Traffic, The Football Factory, Mr Bigstuff.
Claire Rushbrook as Monica, Lady Baddingham
DOB: August 25, 1971.
Bio: English actress from Hertfordshire, known for Secrets & Lies, My Mad Fat Diary, Whitechapel, Home Fires, Enola Holmes, and Ammonite.
She has a strong track record in roles that feel understated but emotionally exact.
Role: Monica is Tony’s wife, and she is more introverted and less invested in her husband’s power games than the other people around her.
Her calm exterior gives the Baddingham world another emotional texture, especially as Tony spirals.
Seasons & Episodes: S1-2 (10 eps).
Interesting facts: Rushbrook trained at Rose Bruford College and spent years working in theatre before becoming widely recognized on TV.
Notable Works: Secrets & Lies, My Mad Fat Diary, Whitechapel, Home Fires.
More Actors
Season 1 (2024)
• Oliver Chris as James Vereker.
• Catriona Chandler as Caitlin O’Hara.
• Gabriel Tierney as Patrick O’Hara.
• Lisa McGrillis as Valerie Jones.
Season 2 (2026)
• Hayley Atwell as Helen Gordon.
• Rupert Everett as Malise Gordon.
• Eliot Salt as Caroline Hampshire.
• Jonny Weldon as Mike Maples.
FAQ – Rivals TV Series
What is Rivals about?
Rivals is a British comedy-drama set in 1980s England. The story follows the intense rivalry between Rupert Campbell-Black and television boss Tony Baddingham as power, romance, politics, and scandals collide in Rutshire.
Is Rivals based on a book?
Yes. The series is based on the 1988 novel Rivals by bestselling British author Jilly Cooper. The book is part of her famous Rutshire Chronicles series.
Is Rivals connected to other Jilly Cooper books?
Yes. The series is part of the larger Rutshire Chronicles universe, which includes novels like Riders, Polo, and The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous.
What genre is Rivals?
Rivals mixes period drama, romantic comedy, satire, soap opera, and workplace drama.
Where can I watch Rivals?
In the UK and many international regions, Rivals streams on Disney+. In the United States, it is available on Hulu.
Conclusion
Rivals is a stylish and entertaining drama filled with rivalry, romance, humor, and shocking moments.
Strong performances, especially from David Tennant and Alex Hassell, help bring the chaotic world of 1980s Rutshire to life.
With its mix of emotional stories, rich characters, and glamorous drama, the series stands out as one of the most enjoyable modern adaptations of a classic novel series.