Baddingham fears losing control of the airwaves in the fictional county of Rutshire in an upcoming bid, so he hires some of the most stunningly attractive (and, for the most part, wickedly talented) names in TV. As interview extraordinaire Declan O’Hara, Aidan Turner is garnering acclaim for his “impressive moustache” and a butt “as soft and pale as caster sugar.” Nafessa Williams brings New York glamour as the cut-throat Head of Drama (and Tony’s lover) Cameron Cook, while Emily Attack is the ambitious trophy wife Sarah Stratton (also a sometime lover of Lord Baddingham). Soon, there is mutiny afoot—in both the boardroom and the bedroom.
In his role as electronics billionaire Freddie Jones, Danny Dyer is “perfectly cast,” says The Guardian. He was, apparently, a shoo-in for the role, but The Telegraph names his chemistry with Katherine Parkinson’s lovable erotic writer Lizzie Vereker (whose odious husband James is also getting it on backstage with Sarah Stratton) as a real highlight.
Rivals, starring Alex Hassell, David Tenant, Nafessa Williams, and Danny Dyer, is the sexiest series now streaming on Disney+.
But it’s Alex Hassell who straddles, colossus-like, over the competition as Rupert Campbell-Black, the Tory minister for Sport with a heart set on dethroning Baddingham and shacking up with Declan O’Hara’s daughter. He may not have the blond hair and blue eyes of his counterpart in the novel, but The Telegraph gushes over his “bags of charisma.” He also has the seal of approval straight from Dame Jilly Cooper herself.
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