Rivals stars Danny Dyer and Alex Hassell have led tributes to author Dame Jilly Cooper following her death at the age of 88.
The novelist, whose 1988 bestseller Rivals inspired the recent Disney+ adaptation, died after a fall, her family confirmed on Monday.
Hassell, who plays Rupert Campbell-Black on the show, shared a photo of himself with the late author and paid a heartfelt tribute.
“So sad to have lost our wonderful Jilly,” he wrote. “So incredibly grateful to have gotten to know her. 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.”
Dyer, who portrayed Freddie Jones in the series, reposted a tribute from production company Happy Prince TV on Instagram, adding two heart emojis in the comments.
Heartbroken Emily Atack uploaded a photo of her in character with Dame Jilly and penned: “Oh Jilly. I can’t believe I’m writing this. Almost years ago you gave me Sarah Stratton, and my life changed forever. 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.
“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.Sending all my love to Jilly’s wonderful family.
“Praying that you all feel somewhat comforted by knowing and seeing just how adored she was. What a woman, what a legacy. We love you Jilly”.
Bella McLean, who plays Taggie, shared: “Rest in peace you extraordinary woman. Thank you for changing my life and so many others for the better. We promise to make you proud and honour the magical world you created.”
Meanwhile Victoria Smurfit, who plays Maud O’Hara, also honoured the late author with an emotional post.
“Our divine Queen has gone to the sky,” she wrote. “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. #jilly#rivals#rip Will miss that Dame so much.”
She later shared another tribute to the late write on her Instagram Story, writing across a photo of the pair together with producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins and screenwriter Laura Wade.
In August, the author hosted a party for the Rivals cast at her Gloucestershire home, joined by long-time friend Andrew Parker Bowles, the former husband of Queen Camilla, who is widely believed to have inspired the infamous Campbell-Black himself.
Actor Rufus Jones, who plays scandal-plagued MP Paul Stratton in the show, reflected on the gathering as he shared a heartfelt tribute to the late author.
“We are almost exactly halfway through filming Series 2 of Rivals, and have just heard that Dame Jilly has left us,” Jones began. “What an extraordinary woman. Just last month we were all together at her famous summer garden party, still giddy at being in the realm of this fantastic person.
Adding: “Hilarious, twinkingly outrageous and kind, we loved being in her company. 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.
“My love and thoughts with Jilly’s friends and family, and the Rivals company. Back to filming a show that was always Hers, but utterly moreso now. Xx”.
Happy Prince Production, who produce Rivals, branded Dame Jilly as “one of the world’s greatest storytellers”. A tribute which show star Luca Pasqualino also reposted to his Instagram Stories.
“We are broken hearted,” they wrote alongside a photo of her on Instagram. “Jilly was is 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.
“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. X”.
Dubbed the “Queen of the bonkbuster,” Dame Jilly became one of Britain’s most beloved authors, selling more than 12 million books across her career. Her sharp wit, warmth and unapologetically saucy storytelling made her a defining voice in British popular fiction.
Her children Felix and Emily said: “Mum, was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds.
“Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock. We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can’t begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us.”
Gary Lamont, who played Charles Fairburn, commented: “There is nothing like a Dame. A privilege to have been in her orbit.”
Best known for The Rutshire Chronicles, her hit series centred on the charming yet scandalous showjumper Rupert Campbell-Black, Dame Jilly enthralled millions with her sharp, funny, and delightfully risqué portrayals of Britain’s polo playing elite.
Dame Jilly’s first novel in the Rutshire series, Riders, was published in 1985.
It made the BBC list of 100 important English language novels in the love, sex and romance selection alongside Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice.
Dame Jilly’s personal life was equally devoted.
She lost her husband, publisher Leo Cooper, to Parkinson’s disease in 2013.
Having known him since childhood, she refused to place him in a care home even as his illness advanced, later admitting she continued writing novels in her later years to help cover his medical expenses.
In the wake of her passing, Dame Jilly’s agent, Felicity Blunt, paid a moving tribute to her “friend, an ally and mentor”.
She said: “The privilege of my career has been working with a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over fifty years ago.
Born in Hornchurch, Essex in 1937, Dame Jilly grew up in Yorkshire and attended the private Godolphin School in Salisbury.
Her father was a brigadier and her family moved to London in the 1950s where she became a reporter on The Middlesex Independent when she was 20.
She has said she moved to public relations and was sacked from 22 jobs before ending up in book publishing.
Her work has been adapted at various points, including an ITV series of The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous with Coronation Street star Stephen Billington and Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville, while Marcus Gilbert starred in a Riders series during the 1990s.
She won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print lifetime achievement award in 2019 and was made a dame for her services to literature and charity in 2024.
A new edition of How To Survive Christmas by Dame Jilly is due to be published through Transworld in November.
The book, first published in 1986, is described as “an irreverent and witty guide to surviving the festive season”.
Dame Jilly’s funeral will be private in line with her wishes, according to her agent.
A public service of thanksgiving will be held in the coming months in Southwark Cathedral to celebrate her life, with a separate announcement made in due course.
