Disney Plus’ new series promises to be a raunchy one (Picture: Robert Viglasky/Disney +/PA Wire)
A brand new Disney Plus adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rivals is set to be a raunchy affair if new comments from behind the scenes are true.
The 1988 novel looked at the (apparently) sexed-up world of TV production and became a hit with readers for its frank depictions of workplace relations.
In 2022, Disney Plus announced it would be adapting the novel to screen, with the likes of David Tennant, Danny Dyer, and Emily Atack attached to starring roles.
Now that big premiere date is near, with the eight-part series – written by EastEnders’ Dominic Treadwell-Collins – heading to the streaming platform on October 18.
And Dominic has promised that not only will Rivals be full of the kind of sex scenes typical of the book, but that the gender balance will ensure ‘a w*lly for every pair of t*ts’.
‘We’ve been equal opportunities in our nudity,’ Dominic told The Times in a recent interview. ‘There’s a willy for every pair of tits,’ he clarified.
Rivals stars The Inbetweeners’ Emily Atack (Picture: Disney+/PA Wire)
As well as boasting the likes of David Tennant, Danny Dyer, and Emily Atack, the cast also features The IT Crowd star Katherine Parkinson, who was apparently eager to be involved.
Dominic said of her performance in the series: ‘She will be garlanded with Baftas and Oscars. Honestly. And she wanted to do the sex scene.’
He continued: ‘She was like, “I really want to show my boobs. I’m in my mid-40s and they look good.” In that scene, you can see she’s crying with happiness and it makes you cry too. She looks like a f*****g queen.’
Dame Jilly Cooper’s novel is finally being adapted for TV(Picture: Andrew Matthews – Pool/Getty Images)
Emily also revealed that nudity on set was fairly casual and relaxed in-between takes, with the former Inbetweeners actress revealing that she sometimes forgot where she was: ‘I keep chatting to people, like, “Hey, Dan, how’s the kids?” — and then realising my tits are out.’
Rivals is the second book of Dame Jilly’s Rutshire Chronicles, which started with Riders in 1986, and now consists of 11 novels in total.
The most recent of which, Tackle!, was published in 2023, after 2016’s Mount!, 2010’s Jump!, 2006’s Wicked!, and 2002’s Pandora, which was the first in the series to be released in the 21st century.
The series focuses on love rivalries at a TV network (Picture: Disney +/PA Wire)
In the 1990s, the novels Score!, Appassionata, and The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, and Polo continued the series after Rivals and Riders were published in the 1980s.
Alex Hassell will star as the Chronicles’ lead character Rupert Campbell-Black, while Doctor Who star David Tennant performs as Lord Tony Baddingham.
Danny Dyer stars as Freddie Jones, while Emily Atack plays Sarah Stratton. Other cast members include Being Human actor Aidan Turner, and Whitney Houston actor Nafessa Williams.
Set in the fictional English county of Rutshire, Rivals follows the story of Rupert Campbell-Black and Lord Baddingham’s rivalry that begins to affect the day-to-day operations of a TV network.
Watch Rivals on Disney Plus from October 18.
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