Emily Atack showcased her slimmer figure as she reprised her role as Sarah Stratton in the second season of the hit series Rivals. The 36-year-old actress has become a fan favourite in the bonkbuster, portraying the second wife and former mistress of MP Paul Stratton, played by Rufus Jones, who aspires to become a television presenter.
Nude Scenes and Body Positivity
In the first season, Emily famously appeared nude in a racy scene, using tennis racquets to preserve her modesty. While she has kept her clothes on for the first part of season two, she has admitted she would not be opposed to another nude scene, describing the experience as "so liberating."
Speaking to Sky News, she said: "Of course there are going to be people out there that take what you do and try and spin a negative narrative on it. I'm a woman, of course people are going to do that. But what I have to keep stressing to people is I'm exactly where I need to be. I'm at work, I'm playing a role, I'm very comfortable and I'm on a closed set."
She added: "We have intimacy coordinators, I get on very well with my director, the crew, the actors and I'm very happy and comfortable. It's other people's characters that need to be looked at if they're going to twist it into some grotesque negativity."
Weight Loss Rumours
Emily's return to Rivals comes amid speculation that she used fast-track weight loss injections to achieve her figure. She has not commented on the rumours. The actress filmed season two two years after welcoming her son, Barney, and previously revealed that just months after giving birth, she was inundated with questions about her weight.
Speaking to Jamie Laing on his Great Company podcast in November 2024, she said: "There's something quite liberating about having a baby. Your body goes through so much and you genuinely look at your body as a completely different vessel. Being pregnant and being desexualised, looking at your body, you create a human inside you, then you give birth to your child - which by the way is mental - you get home and the first thing people say to you is, when are you going to get back in the gym? Are you kidding? I've just created a human, I am exhausted! I've just tried to push a human out of me and had it ripped out of my stomach. The last thing I want to do is go to the gym but the first thing you're expected to do is get back into shape. Where's the congratulations for being a mother? Instead it's when are you going to get the baby weight off... I'm not back at the gym at the minute, I've actually put on more weight since giving birth. I'm just enjoying this bit."
Playing Flawed Characters
Last month, Emily reflected on playing "flawed" women ahead of the new series of Rivals, which also stars Danny Dyer, David Tennant, and Katherine Parkinson. The Disney+ project, based on Jilly Cooper's novel, became an instant hit when it debuted in 2024.
Emily described Sarah as "an absolute f***ing nightmare." She told The Times: "People in the past never wanted to admit that they identify with characters like Sarah as she's promiscuous and naughty. Now, characters like her, people are going, 'Why am I rooting for them?' I'm all for that. I want to play a flawed woman in a right bl**dy pickle."
Future of the Series
The second series is due to air on Friday, and Disney is reportedly so confident in its success that discussions for a third series have already begun. The third instalment would be based on Jilly Cooper's 1991 novel Polo, the third book in her Rutshire Chronicles.
A source told The Sun: "It's not clear yet if the next series will still be called Rivals or flip to become Polo, or perhaps another title altogether. Either way, Disney are so confident the second series will be as well received as the debut season they already have wheels in motion on the third. Fans will be delighted to know that almost all the characters in Rivals also appear in Polo - and the follow-up novel is just as steamy as its predecessor, if not more so."
Filming for the third series could begin later this year and would likely air in late 2027 or early 2028.
