We talk fashion, misogyny and all things ’80s …
The long-awaited Rivals is finally on Disney+ and this limited-series is all anyone can talk about. Colourful and fun, it’s total escapism, with a nostalgic soundtrack to boot. Starring our very own Victoria Smurfit and Aidan Turner, this scandalous new series is one to watch. Maybe not for the whole family, but we expect nothing less from Dame Jilly Cooper.
For Cooper, the prolific author who was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to literature and charity – and who makes a brief cameo in the show – the prospect of her favourite book being adapted for Disney+ was thrilling because, she said, “Disney was the joy of my childhood.”
“Rivals is my favourite novel because even the most ruthless [characters] display moments of tenderness and vulnerability, and the shyest and gentlest show courage and integrity, as true love blossoms.”
Rivals centres on a warring trio of men – and the women trying to make their way through the in-fighting. The story and many of the lines are lifted straight from the page, helped by a diverse writers’ room, with some updated characters. African-American actress Nafessa Williams now stars as Cameron Cook, the powerful female TV producer. Cooper contends that the strong women pulling the strings behind the scenes were her inspiration, especially the O’Haras, the Irish family who move to the quintessentially English village and take it by storm.
“No trio of actresses could be more inspiring than Declan’s (Aidan Turner) womenfolk: first, his sexy but selfish wife Maud (perfectly encapsulated by Victoria Smurfit) who loathes playing second fiddle. Then his elder daughter Taggie (my favourite heroine of all time), played by Bella Maclean, who I think will become a huge star. I also love Taggie’s naughty teenage younger sister Caitlin, played by Catriona Chandler.”
In the Cotswolds, where workaholic husbands and bored housewives in Barbour jackets do battle with fast cars and buckets of endless Champagne, costume designer Ray Holman had a tall order to take us back to the ’80s, with a modern twist. He commissioned bespoke suits for the lead actors, and sourced vintage Ungaro and Laura Ashley for the leading women. Additional pieces were commissioned especially, like Lara Peake’s picture knits and Emily Atack’s outfits. Luxury signifiers such as watches were at such a scale that they required their own safe at night.
The glamorous show also required locations as impressive as its characters. Chavenage House, a traditional Cotswold stone Elizabethan Grade I listed house in Tetbury owned by Caroline Lowsley-Williams (who currently lives there), served as the O’Hara’s house, The Priory, and also previously featured in Poldark (also starring Aidan Turner), among other shows.
Rivals’ sets are filled with familiar, nostalgic touches from classic Ray-Ban sunglasses to ‘80s food and drink you might just recognise. At Chavenage House, for example, a deeply Proustian bar of Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut can be seen in the old familiar paper and gold foil packaging; not to mention the copious packets of cigarettes (minus any health warnings), which were ‘of the time’.
With ’80s throwbacks trending with Gen Z on Instagram and TikTok, and the decade’s influence still felt widely through fashion and culture, people who haven’t encountered Rivals before will be surprised at how modern it feels, Victoria Smurfit told us.
A household name from one of Ireland’s most well known families, who starred opposite Hugh Grant in the popular comedy-drama film About a Boy, adapted from Nick Hornby’s acclaimed novel; as Cruella De Vil in global TV smash Once Upon a Time (as seen on @victoriasmurfit); and gritty police drama Marcella, to name a few, we chatted all things Rivals ahead of its glitzy premiere.
Tell us about the glossy new show, Rivals
Rivals is a dip into a Cooperverse world, Dame Jilly Cooper’s book set in 1986 – a rollicking romp that takes you into the world of the upper echelons of the British establishment, and the upper echelons of British independent rural TV. Throw in the mix a hectic Irish family and you have outrage, comedy and buckets of heart.
Tell us about your character, Maud
Maud is a slightly insecure, damaged butterfly, who’s actually a roaring lion. She loves a drink, loves a flirt, will look for attention anywhere and, if her husband doesn’t give it to her, she’ll find it from someone else.
No spoilers, but any comments on the camel scene?
Sometimes, you just have to arrive on a camel into a stately home to make sure all eyes are on you. I mean, the lengths she goes to for attention is sensational and a tiny bit scary!
Tell us about the fashion …
Ray Holman is our costume designer and he’s extraordinary. It’s funny, when you do your first costume fitting you’re finding the character together. It occurred to us, Maud isn’t in the ‘80s, she’s in the ‘70s. I said, she was famous in the ‘70s, so she’s going to maintain that vibe. You know the way you see 90-year-old women and they’ve still got the blue eyeliner on because that’s what worked when they were 20 – I’m on the cusp of that, by the way! – so I thought, yes, the more boho feel really worked with her. He custom designed and made that green corset dress with the train which, obviously, you’d wear on a camel!
And the jewellery …
Yes, everyday he’d put it out – I was borderline Bette Lynch from Coronation Street – and I would just pick, like sweeties in a shop, the bigger the better.
What about the slouchy socks?
That was my idea. I said to him, if she’s in this stately home she’s going to have to rob somebody’s socks because she can be in her diaphanous dressing gown, but she’s going to need to keep her feet warm!
The chemistry between you and Aidan Turner, who plays your husband, is palpable. I know you’re familiar from the past, but how did that go – was there an intimacy coordinator involved?
That was because pretty much all of the characters have to de-robe at some stage, whether it’s for comedy, love or power, so we had two intimacy coordinators. They were fantastic because, what I’d never realised before, was how much they bring to the camera angles and the story-telling. It’s not just to protect the actors; it’s much deeper.
With your daughters, there’s a fraught relationship – why do you think that is, especially with your eldest?
Maud is not very kind to Taggie (her daughter) because she is deeply jealous of her. She is younger, kinder, beautiful and sweet. Everybody loves Taggie and she’s also a physical embodiment of time passing for Maud. She feels irrelevant and old, and this beautiful young whippersnapper doesn’t make her feel good. Instead of acknowledging and understanding that, at the start of the piece she hits out and is cruel. People are only cruel because they’re hurt.
Obviously, there’s a lot of fun and sex, and it’s glossy and glamorous, but there are real issues dealt with as well, from sexism to homophobia to snobbery – do you think we’ve come a long way since the ‘80s, or do you think we have more to go?
We’ve always got more to go, but it’s very interesting for a younger generation to watch the Cooperverse and see the outrage that people don’t talk to each other like that. But they did and, if the women before you hadn’t changed that, we wouldn’t be able to have this position of being disgusted by it. There’s always further we can go. Equality and misogyny are a work in progress, I believe.
