Rivals: What the Cast of the British Series Looks Like in Real Life (2024)

Rivals put in a lot of work to make their cast look very different on the show.Based on Jilly Cooper's novel of the same name, Disney+ and Hulu's Rivals centers around a feud between two men fighting for control of a television station in 1980s Britain. It stars an ensemble cast including David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit, Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams, Emily Atack and Danny Dyer.The first season ended with Rupert (Hassell) and Declan (Turner) winning the rival bid, but Cameron (Williams) is also ultimately confronted by Tony (Tennant) about her deception. After Tony hit Cameron, she hit him back so hard that viewers were left wondering if he was still alive — or if the show was deviating from its source material."There’s more of the book. I’m always planning. I’ve laid down bombs throughout," executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told TV Insider in October 2024 about a major detail that will be addressed again. "At the end of episode 4, when Declan has been interviewing Rupert, he’s got this envelope and we don’t know what’s in this envelope. ... We’ve laid down a lot of Easter eggs."Treadwell-Collins broke down his approach to adapting the novels, adding, "That’s the muscular story taking you through it all, Tony vs Rupert. And in the book, there’s even more to play. What I’ve always done is talk to Jilly all the way through about where else we would go with the books. We talked about Game of Thrones, we talked about these bigger shows that have big fan love for them but actually bring a whole new audience. What has been wonderful is having Jilly as a really, really clever executive producer who sat on set with us, but also came to the writers’ room a couple of times. Everything we did, we ran past her."He continued: "When we decided to do half the book and stopped where we stopped, we also talked to her about where else we would want to go, and so we’ve got her sign in and then other things that we’ve gone, we’re not sure how this would work on television, we’ve even got her brain thinking and buzzing about how else to play things. So for me, Tony and Rupert’s rivalry and the destruction that it causes can go much, much bigger and be more Greek in its devastation."Keep scrolling to see what the stars of Rivals look like in real life:

Rivals put in a lot of work to make their cast look very different on the show.Based on Jilly Cooper's novel of the same name, Disney+ and Hulu's Rivals centers around a feud between two men fighting for control of a television station in 1980s Britain. It stars an ensemble cast including David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit, Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams, Emily Atack and Danny Dyer.The first season ended with Rupert (Hassell) and Declan (Turner) winning the rival bid, but Cameron (Williams) is also ultimately confronted by Tony (Tennant) about her deception. After Tony hit Cameron, she hit him back so hard that viewers were left wondering if he was still alive — or if the show was deviating from its source material."There’s more of the book. I’m always planning. I’ve laid down bombs throughout," executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told TV Insider in October 2024 about a major detail that will be addressed again. "At the end of episode 4, when Declan has been interviewing Rupert, he’s got this envelope and we don’t know what’s in this envelope. ... We’ve laid down a lot of Easter eggs."Treadwell-Collins broke down his approach to adapting the novels, adding, "That’s the muscular story taking you through it all, Tony vs Rupert. And in the book, there’s even more to play. What I’ve always done is talk to Jilly all the way through about where else we would go with the books. We talked about Game of Thrones, we talked about these bigger shows that have big fan love for them but actually bring a whole new audience. What has been wonderful is having Jilly as a really, really clever executive producer who sat on set with us, but also came to the writers’ room a couple of times. Everything we did, we ran past her."He continued: "When we decided to do half the book and stopped where we stopped, we also talked to her about where else we would want to go, and so we’ve got her sign in and then other things that we’ve gone, we’re not sure how this would work on television, we’ve even got her brain thinking and buzzing about how else to play things. So for me, Tony and Rupert’s rivalry and the destruction that it causes can go much, much bigger and be more Greek in its devastation."Keep scrolling to see what the stars of Rivals look like in real life:

Fans fell in love with Hassell's depiction of Rupert — including his onscreen romance with Maclean's Taggie — but the actor is also known for roles on The Boys, Cowboy Bebop and His Dark Materials. On the big screen, Hassell has starred in Suburbicon and Locked In.

For anyone else unable to focus during Tennant's scenes as Tony, that is in fact the 10th incarnation of the Doctor from Doctor Who. Tennant played the role from 2005 to 2010 before briefly returning three years later. He returned to the universe again in 2022 to play the 14th incarnation.

Tennant has also appeared on Broadchurch, Jessica Jones and Good Omens. He worked on stage extensively throughout the years following his television performances, bringing the titular role of Hamlet to life in 2008, which was later adapted for the small screen. In 2015, Tennant received the National Television Award for Special Recognition.

Turner began his career on The Clinic before making his Rivals character, Declan, proud with a role on a BBC production titled Desperate Romantics. He rose to stardom after starring in Being Human, The Hobbit trilogy and Poldark.

The actress, who plays Cameron, should be more familiar to American audiences after her roles in Streets, One Life to Live, Code Black and Black Lighting. Williams also portrayed Robyn Crawford in the 2022 Whitney Houston biopic titled Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Before taking on the fan-favorite role of Taggie, Maclean appeared in season 4 of Netflix's Sex Education. She is known for her theater work with roles in Spring Awakening and London Tide.

Parkinson was nominated for the BAFTA twice — and won once — for The IT Crowd before joining Rivals as Lizzie. She got her start as an actress studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before appearing in plays such as The Seagull, Cock and Home, I'm Darling.

Dyer won Us over with his performance as Freddie. He previously starred in movies Human Traffic, Mean Machine and The Football Factory. On the small screen, Dyer played Mick on EastEnders and was a presenter on BBC's The Wall.

Smurfit is known for her roles on Ballykissangel, Trial & Retribution and Once Upon a Time. She joined Rivals in the role of Maud, who is the matriarch of the O’Hara household.

Chris is familiar to Us because of his roles on The Crown, Miss Scarlet and The Duke and as the narrator on My Lady Jane. His latest role was James on Rivals. Oliver also has extensive experience on stage with roles in The Portrait of a Lady, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Charles III and more.

Ahead of her role as Valerie, McGrillis appeared in TV shows such as No Offence, Mum, Avoidance, Best Interests and Sex Education.

In addition to playing Basil, Pasqualino might look familiar because of his TV roles on Our Girl, Snatch and Shadow and Bone. He also voiced Wulf in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

Rushbrook plays Monica on Rivals opposite onscreen love interest Tennant. She has previously appeared on My Mad Fat Diary, Black Mirror, Moonflower Murders and A Very Royal Scandal.

Just like Sarah, Atack knows a thing or two about hosting her own show after starring on The Emily Atack Show. Atack has also booked roles on The Inbetweeners, Lemon La Vida Loca, The Keith Lemon Sketch Show and The Keith & Paddy Picture Show. She appeared on Dancing on Ice in 2010, was a runner-up on Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2018 and cohosted I'm a Celebrity: Extra Camp in 2019.