This article contains some spoilers for the ending of 'Rivals' season one.
It became the 'bonkbuster' of the year thanks to its lashings of old-fashioned small screen sex appeal, and we now have confirmation that the second season of Rivals, the adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper's bestselling 1988 novel, is well underway.
The inaugural eight-episode series, which was released on October 18, 2024 and was based on the second out of 11 of the author's Rutshire Chronicles, centred on the cutthroat world of 1980s independent television in the era of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The storyline centred on Declan O'Hara (Aidan Turner), a dishy Irish TV presenter who was roped into working at the failing Corinium television studios by its owner, Lord Baddingham (David Tennant). Also recruited by Lord Baddingham is Nafessa Williams' character, the glamorous American TV producer Cameron Cook, with the two initially butting heads.
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It was clearly a hit too; according to Google Trends, searches for the show and its cast spiked by 900% in the UK in the seven days following the series' release, so it came as little surprise then that Disney+ renewed the hit series for another season on December 4.
Rivals has been renewed for a season two
Dame Jilly, who was an executive producer on the first series and will continue to be on the second, said in an official statement when the show was renewed for another outing: '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. 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.'
Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Chief Creative Officer of Happy Prince and Alexander Lamb, Creative Director of Happy Prince also said in a statement that it had been 'magical to receive the love back from viewers that we put into Rivals.'
That's not all — on May 21, Disney+ confirmed that the series had started filming with a series of BTS photographs of our favourite fictional Rutshire locals in their 1980s get-ups. To say we're excited is an understatement.
Here's everything we know so far about Rivals season two.
What will the plot of Rivals season 2 be?
The first season of Rivals was based on the second out of 11 of the author's Rutshire Chronicles, which all centre around Cooper's lust-worthy hero, Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell). While the plot varies in each of Cooper's books, at the centre of each of their storylines is the broodingly handsome, aristocratic, 30-something politician Rupert, who, in the first series of Rivals, developed a romantic relationship O’Hara’s daughter Agatha (Bella Maclean), otherwise known as Taggie, who is 20. Cooper has previously revealed that Campbell-Black was a composite of the Duchess of Cornwall’s first husband Andrew Parker Bowles, fashion designer Rupert Lycett Green, and Michael Howard, the 21st Earl of Suffolk.
The first series of Rivals may have had many twists and turns, but in fact the series only completed the first half of the book, and so the second series will, we assume, complete the book.
However, some things still need to be resolved — some of the plot in season one of the TV show varies from the book. For instance in the book, the final scenes which see Cameron hit Tony over the head don't occur. The writers of the TV show could, of course, continue to base their storytelling on Cooper's prose, but that would be tricky given that in the second half of the book, Tony is very much alive and crucial to one of the biggest plot twists in the novel.
What else could happen in season two? Well, we know Rupert and Taggie's relationship is key to the central plot of the show, and those who have read the book will know there's much more to come from those two.
If a series three were to follow the plot of third Rutshire Chronicles book Polo!, then perhaps the season would focus on the relationship between polo player Ricky France-Lynch and Perdita MacLeod, who is obsessed with becoming a top performing polo player.
In a November 2024 interview with Radio Times, Danny Dyer (who plays businessman Freddie Jones on the show) seemed hopeful for a second season, with the series just a matter of days later being greenlit for its second outing. 'We might be busy on the second series of Rivals so you know, Walford or Rivals – maybe I can do both,' he said.
Dyer's sentiments on a second season were echoed by his co-star on the series, Victoria Smurfit, who plays Maud O’Hara. 'I’d want a season three and four. You’ve got so many glorious characters to follow,' she told Radio Times.
Who will make up the cast of Rivals season 2?
It's safe to assume that Alex Hassell will return as Rupert Campbell-Black — he was chosen to play the role out of 600 men who auditioned — and it's also highly likely that Bella Maclean will reprise her role as Taggie too, as — spoiler alert — the pair's relationship becomes a mainstay of the Rutshire Chronicles.
It's also likely that Emily Atack will return as Sarah Stratton (after that bombshell revelation).
But will David Tennant's Tony return and the TV show follow the twists and turns of his character in the second half of the book? We'll have to wait a while (and intently study any filming pictures that come our way).
When would Rivals season 2 air?
Cooper’s romantic romps have long captivated audiences, but they have been notoriously difficult to bring to the screen over the years.
The book was last made into a TV movie in 1993, starring Marcus Gilbert as Cooper's hero, Rupert Campbell-Black, while in 2016, there were reports that ITV had acquired the rights to nine out of 11 of the author's Rutshire Chronicles, but the show never materialised.
As for time frames though, filming for Rivals season one began in March 2023 and wrapped in September 2023 before the eight-part series premiered in October 2024. Disney+ greenlit a second series at the beginning of December 2024, and as of May 2025, the cast are well into filming the second series, meaning that we could very well expect it to premiere as early as 2026. Watch this space.
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Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years’ worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.
