The second series of the Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals has arrived, promising to be raunchier and more shocking than ever. The show, which follows the professional rivalries and personal dramas of a hard-drinking bunch of 1980s television executives, has been praised for its life-affirming and hysterically funny storytelling.
Viewers can expect plenty of sex, with scenes in the shower, under desks, against antique mirrors, and in stables. The series boasts an admirably equal-opportunities nudity policy, with as many thrusting bottoms as bouncing boobs. The best sex scene, according to critics, is had not by any of the series' pin-ups but by Danny Dyer's bashful rough diamond Freddie and his downtrodden, cardi-wearing middle-aged lover, Lizzie.
The villains are delicious, the heroines adorable, and the minor characters full of juice. David Tennant plays the awful Lord Baddingham with a vindictive relish, while Nafessa Williams is bewitching as glamazon American executive Cameron. Gary Lamont as gentle Charles Fairburn provides a life raft of sweet tenderness in the shark pool of Corinium TV HQ.
The through-line of Rivals is nostalgia for life before we overcomplicated everything, when wellness wasn't even a word and a dented biscuit tin full of custard creams was the heart of every kitchen. The show reminds us that while class and money have always been thorny, there was a time when inequality meant being sniggered at for saying dessert instead of pudding, rather than the vast wealth disparities of modern Britain.
Rivals has reminded us that good television can be fun, offering a naughty, indulgent treat in contrast to the bleakness of many modern prestige dramas. The first half of the second season comes to a climax this week, with six heavenly hours of television following the exploits of the residents of Rutshire.
