Hayley Atwell & Rupert Everett Join The Cast Of Rivals Season 2

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Here's everything we know so far about the return of Jilly Cooper's hit Disney series

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When it launched in autumn 2024, it was fondly dubbed the ‘bonkbuster’ of the year – and we certainly haven’t seen anything like Rivals for a long while. Zippy, gripping, sexy and brimming with fun, it brings Dame Jilly Cooper’s best-selling 1988 novel – and her entire universe (aka the Jillyverse) – to the screen for the first time, and it’s practically overflowing with British stars. Season 1’s 10 episodes landed on Disney+ in October to immediate acclaim, with season 2 confirmed a few months later. With new stars on the roster, here’s everything we know so far about Rivals season 2, plus when we might get to see it.

Rivals Season 2: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

Disney officially confirmed a second season of Rivals was on the way in December 2024 after the stonking success of season 1 earlier that autumn. The series centres on three male leads: British nobleman, MP and ex-Olympic horse rider Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell); his vicious and ruthless nemesis and controller of local Corinium television station Tony Baddingham (David Tennant); and the short-tempered, alcoholic yet dazzlingly engaging and dynamic television journalist Tony hires to shake up Corinium, Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner). When all combusts between Tony and Declan at Corinium, an unlikely partnership forms between Declan and Rupert who, along with local self-made electronics businessman Freddie Jones (Danny Dyer), form a new television company to rival Tony’s in the upcoming bid for the local TV franchise.

All of this is backdropped by the lavish local lives in the fictional town of Rutshire, set in the Cotswolds – especially the lives of the wives and Declan’s homely daughter Taggie (Bella Maclean). Think garish ’80s parties garden parties with fitting hors d’oeuvres and bouffant hairstyles, scandalous affairs and dinner parties where the guestlist itself is the main point of interest. As the wives drink their days away, dyslexic Taggie cooks up a catering business and develops an ill-advised crush on Rupert.

David Tennant as Lord Tony Baddingham, Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook & Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara in Rivals. (© Disney)

‘Nearly 40 years after my novel Rivals was published, I’ve adored seeing the world fall in love with my beloved characters – Rutshire’s Finest,’ Dame Jilly Cooper said on the news the series would return for a second season. ‘And it has been a fairytale come true working with Happy Prince and Disney+ on the first season. I’m orgasmic with excitement and cannot wait for the return of my superhero Rupert Campbell-Black and the rest of the characters in season two!’

And when filming commenced in May 2025, Cooper described herself as ‘utterly sex-static’.

Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara & Luca Pasqualino as Basil ‘Bas’ Baddingham in Rivals. (© Disney)

‘It’s been phenomenal seeing the reaction to Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rivals – this autumn’s most talked about series,’ Disney+’s executive director of scripted originals Lee Mason added. ‘We’re thrilled that existing fans of the novels, alongside those new to the Cooperverse, have taken the series to their hearts. I can’t wait to get back to Rutshire and see what exciting drama the Happy Prince team have in store for season two – bring on more romance, betrayal, and shoulder pads!’

While Disney does not publish viewing stats, a spokesperson describes Rivals as ‘a landmark series for Disney+, quickly becoming one of our most beloved British UK Original dramas’. The quick season 2 renewal is testament to the series’ success. Could Rivals be Disney’s answer to Netflix’s Bridgerton, attracting a whole new audience to the platform? We think so…

The ensemble cast of Rivals behind the scenes of episode 3. (© Disney)

What Will Happen?

Well, there are lots of loose ends to tie up after all of those cliffhangers, especially since Rivals season 1 ends part way through Cooper’s 1988 novel of the same name. We expect season 2 to trace the second half of the novel, in which Declan, Rupert and Freddie continue to build Venturer, a competitor television station to Tony’s Corinium in the bid for the local franchise, along with their family, friends and reluctant allies.

The latter includes Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams), the American TV producer enlisted by Tony at the same time as Declan. Grappling to disentangle her ambitious work from her regrettable sexual relationship with Tony, Cameron has a fling with Rupert – but can she be brought to the Venturer dark side? And will Taggie’s crush on Rupert ever come to fruition?

Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black & Bella Maclean as Taggie O’Hara in Rivals. (© Disney)

With a bumper edition of 12 episodes (versus season 1’s eight episodes), Disney tells us to expect ‘even more wit, desire, and dramatic twists’.

‘As power struggles escalate and rivalries deepen, ambition drives every move, pushing loyalties to the edge,’ Disney adds.

Behind the scenes of episode 2’s dinner party. (© Disney)

The Cast

Season 1’s stellar ensemble cast will return for Rivals season 2, including David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Aidan Turner, Nafessa Williams, Bella Maclean, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer, Victoria Smurfit, Claire Rushbrook, Oliver Chris, Lisa McGrillis, Emily Atack, Rufus Jones, Luca Pasqualino, Catriona Chandler and Annabel Scholey.

They will be joined by some new faces, including guest stars Hayley Atwell as Rupert’s ex-wife Helen Gordon, and Rupert Everett (who will soon speak at Chelsea Arts Festival) as her new husband Malise Gordon – who also happens to be Rupert’s former show-jumping coach and mentor.

Fellow fresh faces include Maxim Ays, Holly Cattle, Oliver Dench, Amanda Lawrence, Bobby Lockwood, Eliot Salt and Jonny Weldon – though their characters are to be confirmed.

Meanwhile Atack’s mother and actor Kate Robbins tells the BBC she is set to star in two episodes of the series, which she filmed in between babysitting Atack’s young son, Barney.

Behind the scenes of episode 1's garden party

The full cast we know so far includes:

David Tennant as Lord Tony Baddingham
Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black
Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara
Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook
Bella Maclean as Taggie O’Hara
Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker
Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones
Victoria Smurfit as Maud O’Hara
Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham
Hayley Atwell as Helen Gordon, Rupert’s ex-wife
Rupert Everett as Malise Gordon, Helen’s new husband
Oliver Chris as James Vereker
Lisa McGrillis as Valerie Jones
Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton
Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton
Luca Pasqualino as Basil ‘Bas’ Baddingham
Catriona Chandler as Caitlin O’Hara
Gabriel Tierney as Patrick O’Hara
Annabel Scholey as Beattie Johnson
Wendy Albiston as Mrs Makepiece
Jamie Bisping as Kevin Makepiece
Denise Black as Joyce Madden
Timothy Blore as Bobby Riches
Hubert Burton as Gerald Middleton
Antony Byrne as Ginger Baines
David Calder as Reverend Penny
Nino Furuhata as Toshi Yamazaki
Selina Griffiths as Dame Enid Spink
Bryony Hannah as Dierdre Kilpatrick
Rich Keeble as Brian Hetherington
Gilbert Kyem Jnr as Wesley Emerson
Gary Lamont as Charles Fairburn
Louis Landau as Archie Baddingham
Charlotte Mangel as Nathalie Perrault
Brendan Patricks as Henry Hampshire
Lara Peake as Daysee Butler
Olivia Poulet as Hermoine Hampshire
Gary Shelford as Mr Makepiece
Emma Shipp as Shelley Makepiece
Guy Siner as Bishop Hubert Brenton
Maggie Steed as Lady Gosling
Dan Tetsall as Steve Meadows
Maxim Ays
Holly Cattle
Oliver Dench
Amanda Lawrence
Bobby Lockwood
Eliot Salt
Jonny Weldon

Will There Be Rivals Season 3?

No confirmation from Disney regarding Rivals season 3 just yet, and we could interpret the 12-episode second season as the streaming platform tying up all of its loose ends. Or Disney could be ramping things up even further… And there’s plenty of material to mine from Cooper.

After the action of Rivals is wrapped up, the series could expand to cover the events of other novels in the Jillyverse: the Rutshire Chronicles is made up of 11 books all set in Jilly’s fictional Cotswolds county and involving Rupert Campbell Black, and Rivals is only the second. After Rivals comes Polo!, which focusses on the relationship between polo player Ricky France-Lynch and Perdita MacLeod, who is desperate to become a top performing polo player. Or perhaps we will go in the opposite direction and flash back to Riders, Cooper’s first Rutshire novel which centres on horseman Jake Lovell seeking revenge for years of bullying at the hands of Campbell-Black.