Culture Chat: the bonkbuster world of ‘Rivals’

Today we head to Rutshire, to take a crack at the frothy, riotous TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s 1980s romance novel, Rivals. The eight-episode series follows a cluster of posh English country-dwellers – including TV executive Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) and local heartthrob Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) — as they bonk and bust their way around the Cotswolds. Shoulder pads, extramarital affairs and messy dinner parties abound. But what is the show really about: Class? Sex? The 80s? Lilah is joined by the FT's Robert Shrimsley and Harriet Fitch Little to discuss. 

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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap, and email at lilahrap@ft.com. And we’re grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify!

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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): 

–  Rivals is out now on Disney+ in the UK, and Hulu in the US. You can read the FT’s four star review here: https://on.ft.com/40sqQa6 

– Robert Shrimsley’s column, ‘Were the 80s as much fun as Jilly Cooper says?’ is here: https://on.ft.com/4f5PcL8 

– We also love Jo Ellison’s recent column, ‘Jilly Cooper’s Britain: the bad sex world capital’: https://on.ft.com/3Uvj0Zt 

– Robert is on X @robertshrimsley. Harriet is on X @HarrietFL and Instagram @huffffle 

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Original music by Metaphor Music. Clips copyright Disney.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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