The Rivals cast and crew allegedly took drugs during and after filming of the first series and had boozy all-nighters.
The 1980s-set Disney Plus drama starring David Tennant, Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson and Emily Atack is based on Jilly Cooper’s raunchy novel and filming is underway on a second series.
Sources have claimed that the behind-the-scenes antics of some of the team made the show’s script “look tame”.
Some members of the 100-strong cast and crew reportedly partied all night and took cocaine in their trailers between scenes, according to The Sun.
There is no suggestion that this involved any of the main actors.
One actress was also reportedly so flirty with a crew member that he begged her to stop for the sake of his marriage.
Cast and crew allegedly had a “knees up every night” at their local pub, The Hare & Hounds, outside Tetbury in the Cotswolds, turning it into their own private members’ club.
“After filming wrapped for the day, everything was just as raunchy and chaotic as the show,” an insider told The Sun.
“If anything, it made Jilly’s plot look tame. There was lots of cocaine-taking in trailers. They’d live it up at all-nighters then go straight to set the next morning.
“One star was still so high, their eyes were totally wild so they had to send them home.”
The Standard has contacted Disney for comment.
The award-winning Disney Plus drama follows the high-stakes world of British television as careers, marriages and reputations hang by a thread when professional and personal lives collide.
The extended second series will feature 12 episodes and began filming in May.
It will see Tennant reprise his role as Lord Tony Baddingham along with the original cast including The Boys star Alex Hassell, Irish actor Aidan Turner and Black Lightning actress Nafessa Williams.
Dyer will also return to play businessman Freddie Jones, for which he won the British Press Guild Award for best actor and the RTS Television Award for supporting actor.
Throughout the emotionally charged first series, Dyer’s character was seen to have a slow-burn romance with Lizzie Vereker, played by The IT Crowd’s Katherine Parkinson who was nominated for a Bafta TV Award for supporting actress.
The first series was released in October 2024 with eight episodes and received six nominations across the Bafta TV awards, along with a nod in the memorable moment category, for the moment Rupert Campbell-Black (Hassell) and Sarah Stratton (Atack) were caught playing naked tennis.
Hassell revealed series two will serve as a tribute to the late Dame Jilly Cooper following her death in October.
The beloved author, known as the “Queen of the bonkbuster” for her Rutshire Chronicles novels including Riders, Polo and Rivals, died aged 88 after a fatal head injury caused by a fall.
“It will be [a tribute to Dame Jilly],” Hassell told The Standard at the London Film Festival premiere in October.
“We’re just trying to work really hard to make her vision as sort of bold and as full as possible and carry her spirit forward onto the screen as much as we can.”
Following her death, Hassell shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, posting a photo of himself with the author.
“So sad to have lost our wonderful Jilly. So incredibly grateful to have gotten to know 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.
He 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 things she said to me was that she was proud of me. Gorgeous and caring to the last.
“She shall be greatly missed. We will continue to do our utmost to honour her. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this difficult time.”
