The late Dame Jilly Cooper has been remembered as a literary legend by the cast of Rivals, the award-winning TV series based on her best-selling novel of the same name.
Cooper, who died on Sunday 5 October after a fall aged 88, is one of the UK’s most celebrated authors, best known for her risque fiction focusing on the scandalous lives of the British elite in the Eighties and Nineties. She wrote Rivals in 1988, the second book in her Rutshire Chronicles series, which depicts the sordid ongoings in a power struggle between two television companies in the Cotswolds.
Actor Rufus Jones, who plays the scandal-plagued MP Paul Stratton in the Disney+ adaptation of the book, said in a statement that the cast learnt of Cooper’s death while filming the second season of the show.
He wrote: “We are almost exactly halfway through filming series two of Rivals, and have just heard that Dame Jilly has left us. What an extraordinary woman.”
Jones said the cast attended Cooper’s famous summer party just last month, adding: “Still giddy at being in the realm of this fantastic person.”
Alex Hassell, who plays the central lothario heartthrob Rupert Campbell-Black on the show, shared a photo of himself with the late author, saying that he was “incredibly grateful” to have known her.
He wrote: “This magical woman changed my life. Quite aside from the great wealth of joy, comfort and excitement her writing has given so many, she was such a generous spirited person to be around.”
Hassell added: “She was so kind and supportive to me in portraying her hero Rupert. I’m so pleased I got to see her on set the other day, and pretty much the last thing she said to me was that she was proud of me. Gorgeous and caring to the last. She shall be greatly missed.”
Emily Atack, who portrays Sarah Stratton in the series, praised the author’s warmth, writing: “I’ll never forget the first time we met. Your warmth and kindness soared through me with that first hug, and then every hug since.”
She continued: “To be taken into your world was the hugest honour and a once in a life time privilege. I cannot begin to explain how much we will miss you. Thank you for letting us into Jilly World, there really is no place like it.”
Danny Dyer, who became a fan-favourite for his role as Rivals’ cockney businessman Freddie Jones, shared a series of love-heart emojis underneath a tribute post.
Actor Gary Lamont, who plays Corinium TV controller Charles Fairburn, said in a tribute: “There is nothing like a Dame. A privilege to have been in her orbit.”
Meanwhile, Victoria Smurfit, who plays Maud, the wife of TV presenter Declan O’Hara, said Cooper was like “Paddington bear with a naughty twinkle”.
The actor wrote on Instagram: “Our divine Queen has gone to the sky. Her words will live forever but the way she made you feel, when in her company was human sunshine. Jilly was everything that was good about being a person. Paddington bear with a naughty twinkle. All love to her beautiful and loving family and friends. Will miss that Dame so much.” She also dubbed Cooper as the “Queen of joy”.
Jones further added that the Rivals cast loved being in Cooper’s company when she came to set.
He said: “I remember having lunch on set with her two summers ago, and the stories poured out of her. An incredible one about interviewing Thatcher which – like so much of her master storytelling – was surprising, subverting and deeply human. Back to filming a show that was always Hers, but utterly moreso now.”
Rivals was turned into a hit show for Disney+ in 2024, starring Dyer, Atack, David Tennant, Katherine Parkinson, Hassell, Nafessa Williams and Aidan Turner.
Dominic Treadwell-Collins, the showrunner behind the series, said in a statement that the production team were “broken-hearted” by the news.
“Jilly was and always will be one of the world’s greatest storytellers, and it has been the most incredible honour to have been able to work with her to adapt her incredible novels for television.”
“Crawling around on her sitting room floor with storylines on pieces of paper, sitting up late at her kitchen table holding hands with love and our tummies with laughter, receiving scoldings and heaps of wisdom in equal measure, watching her eyes sparkling as she sat behind the monitor on set watching Rutshire brought to life – every moment spent with Jilly Cooper was bloody marvellous.”
He continued: “We have been so lucky to be able to call her our friend – and know that her legacy will endure in her writing, her television and the encouragement to have fun that she gave us all.”
A public service of thanksgiving will be held in the coming months in Southwark Cathedral to celebrate Cooper’s life, with a separate announcement made in due course.
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