Jilly Cooper fans, saddle up. Disney+ has released brand new images for the next season of its hit TV show, Rivals – teasing the return of some of the series’ protagonists.
“Following last season’s dramatic cliffhanger with Tony’s fate hanging in the balance, Lord Baddingham is back and out for vengeance ready to stop at nothing to keep Corinium’s empire unrivalled,” the series synopsis reads.
“Careers, marriages, and reputations hang in the balance as personal and professional lives collide in a world where secrets can’t stay hidden for long.”
The images themselves show Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) striding out of a black helicopter, news presenter Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner) standing in front of a blue van and a close up of station manager Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams), in what looks like a TV set.
More excitingly in terms of future drama, there’s also a shot of Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) face to face with Bella Maclean’s Taggie O’Hara, in what looks like a pantry.
As the synopsis teases, Rivals’ first season ended on something of a cliffhanger, with Rupert, Tony and Declan all battling it out for television supremacy. Tony founded Corinium, but season one concluded with Rupert and Declan founding their own rival TV channel, called Venturer, with backing from the wealthy Freddie (Danny Dyer).
When the time comes for the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to decide who to give that year’s TV licence to, Venturer wins –while Tony ends up being hit over the head by a heavy gold trophy following a row with Cameron. Is he alive? The images seem to suggest so, and most likely, he’s out for blood too.
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Cooper herself passed away in October this year at the age of 88. She’d written more than 18 books, her most beloved of which were the Rutshire Chronicles, which told steamy tales of sex and money, set in the rolling hills of the Cotswolds.
Rivals, which was published in 1988, was one of her most famous books, but was only brought to the small screen for the first time in 2024. And while we don’t have a release date for the second series yet, it looks to be sometime in 2026. Buckle up.
