Dame Jilly Cooper scolded the team behind the Disney+ series Rivals, telling them to stop making her 'macho men' cry on screen. The show, starring Danny Dyer, David Tennant, and Emily Atack, is based on Cooper's best-selling novel. The author died unexpectedly last October at age 88 after suffering injuries from a fall at home.
Criticism from the Author
Laura Wade, writer and executive producer of Rivals, shared at the Hay Festival on Sunday that Cooper offered memorable feedback on set. 'We were so lucky to have Jilly... You would expect someone to be quite strict about what you do with their key characters, and she really wasn't,' Wade said. 'She would tell us, if I was making Rupert (Campbell-Black) cry too often, that was one of her favourites – "stop making my macho men cry all the time".'
Set in the 1980s against the Cotswolds countryside, Rivals follows the high-stakes world of British television, where careers, marriages, and reputations hang by a thread as professional and personal lives collide. Cooper was an active part of the production and served as an executive producer.
Cast Reactions to Her Death
At the festival, Victoria Smurfit, who plays Maud O'Hara in Rivals, recalled the moment the cast and crew learned of Cooper's sudden death. 'I came back (from a break) and Eliza Mellor, our extraordinary on-set producer, was in the room and everything about her was devastated, and I remember walking in and going, "Oh God, someone's died",' Smurfit said. 'And it is a testament to Jilly's sparkle and her champagne soaked soul of heavenly delight that at 88 there was not one iota of me that thought it might be her. She'd been across all the episodes, she'd been across season three, she'd been across everything, and she dropped and rolled... And now she gets to have fun up there.'
Details of Her Death
An inquest last year revealed that Cooper died from a head injury after falling down a flight of stairs at her Cotswolds home. The writer, known for raunchy novels such as Riders, Rivals, and Polo, was found by family at her Grade II listed home in Bisley, Gloucestershire, at around 5pm on October 4. Paramedics found her alert but with a 'severe headache' and no memory of the fall. Her daughter, Emily Tarrant, believed she had fallen down the stairs as a 'trail of blood' was found there. A CT scan revealed a 'catastrophic' skull fracture, and doctors informed her family it was 'likely a terminal event'. She died the following morning in hospital surrounded by loved ones. Senior coroner Katy Skerrett concluded accidental death due to a traumatic subdural haematoma.
Legacy and Tributes
Cooper, the undisputed queen of the 'bonkbuster', sold more than 11 million books in the UK alone. Her best-selling romps portraying scandals, betrayals, and fabulous lifestyles earned her over £5 million, and she is estimated to have left a £10 million fortune. Rivals introduced her work to a new generation. Queen Camilla, who first met Cooper when married to Andrew Parker Bowles—said to be an inspiration for Rupert Campbell-Black—paid tribute, calling her a 'wonderfully witty and compassionate friend'. Cooper's children Felix Cooper and Emily Tarrant said, 'Mum was the shining light in all of our lives.' Her first novel in the Rutshire series, Riders (1985), was listed by the BBC as one of 100 important English language novels in the love, sex, and romance selection. Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also praised her novels for offering escapism.
