The cast of Rivals take DQ back to Rutshire, where S2 brings polo matches, political battles, farcical dinner parties and even more sex, scandal and hairspray to Disney+ and Hulu. By his own admission, Rufus Jones has been “lucky and traumatised” to be naked quite a lot during his career. So the actor wasn’t at all fazed to discover his first day shooting scenes for the second season of riotous 1980s-set comedy-drama Rivals called for him to be dancing in the buff in the shower. “That was my first day,” he tells DQ. “But it’s always a privilege to get your trousers off for Jilly Cooper.” Jones, who plays local politician Paul Stratton, is just one of a number of stars reprising their roles in the expanded 12-part second season of Rivals, an adaptation of the late author Cooper’s novel of the same name, which is set among the rolling hills of the fictional Rutshire. So too is his on-screen wife Emily Atack, who plays Sarah Stratton, as well as David Tennant (Lord Tony Baddingham), Alex Hassell (Rupert Campbell-Black), Aidan Turner (Declan O’Hara), Nafessa Williams (Cameron Cook), Bella Maclean (Taggie O’Hara), Katherine Parkinson (Lizzie Vereker), Danny Dyer (Freddie Jones) and Luca Pasqualino (Basil ‘Bas’ Baddingham), among many more. New faces include Hayley Atwell as Helen Gordon, Rupert’s ex-wife and the mother of his two children, and Rupert Everett as her husband Malise Gordon, Rupert’s former showjumping coach and mentor. Picking up directly from the conclusion of S1, the story … Continue reading Rivals returns: stars Alex Hassell, Bella Maclean, Emily Atack, Nafessa Williams, Rufus Jones and Luca Pasqualino on S2 of the Disney+ drama
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