The Bafta-winning actor Katherine Parkinson has praised the television series Rivals for its “radical” depiction of sex from a woman’s perspective. Speaking at a preview screening in Bristol, where much of the series was filmed, Parkinson, who plays romance author Lizzie Vereker, said there are too few examples on television of a woman’s view of sex.
The award-winning Disney+ show follows the high-stakes world of British television set against the backdrop of the Cotswolds countryside in the fictional county of Rutshire. It has become renowned for its frequent, racy sex scenes featuring many of the diverse cast of characters.
The first three episodes of the second series landed on the streaming platform on Friday. Fans of the first season’s notorious scenes will not be disappointed, as characters engage in what The Guardian’s TV critic called a “crisis bonk” within the first 10 minutes.
Parkinson, who appeared in her own sex scene with co-star Danny Dyer in the final episode of the first season, told the audience at the Everyman Bristol: “The great thing that Rivals does is … there are truths being told that I don’t feel that I’ve necessarily seen … there’s a sort of bravery to that. And it sort of feels quite radical.”
She added: “Because Jilly [Cooper] wrote brilliantly from the female perspective about sex. And oddly, we still haven’t seen a lot of that on television.”
Parkinson, who won a Bafta last week for her role as Rachel in Here We Go, was joined by co-star Annabel Scholey, who plays ruthless journalist Beattie Johnson, the creative team from production company Happy Prince, the mayor of the West of England, Helen Godwin, and members of Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios.
The series, based on Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles, was filmed at the studios, which are owned by the city council. Many of the locations featured in the series lie within a 30-mile radius around Bristol. The screening celebrated the region’s role in creating the popular series and as a champion for moving film-making outside London’s orbit.
Godwin said: “The West Country is proud to be the real-life Rutshire, somewhere seen by people all around the world and something which is inspiring more visitors to come to, and fall in love with, our region. Rivals being made here has directly and indirectly helped add millions of pounds to the country’s fastest-growing regional economy.”
The filming of the second series, which started in May 2025, was overshadowed by the death of Cooper, who suffered a fatal head injury in a fall at her Gloucestershire home in October. The Bristol audience was asked to raise a glass in Cooper’s memory before the screening of the first episode.
