Emily Atack has traded the big, messy 80s hairstyle favoured by her Rivals character for soft, tumbling waves as she stepped out in London to promote her new ITV gameshow. The actress, 36, who plays the saucy and ambitious Sarah Stratton in the hit Disney+ series, typically sports voluminous blonde curls styled to be 'enormous' to match the show's bold and glamorous aesthetic. However, on Tuesday, she opted for a more modern blowout, adding long platinum extensions with the help of her hair stylist.
Hair Transformation and Promotion Day
Emily took to her Instagram Stories to showcase her hair transformation before heading to Global Studios for an appearance on Heart Radio. The mother-of-one cut an effortlessly chic figure in a black blazer paired with matching trousers and woven sliders, accessorised with a golden pendant necklace. Carrying a Burberry handbag and shielding her face with stylish sunglasses, she flashed a radiant smile upon arriving at the London studios.
Clearly delighted with her bouncy new tresses, the star shared another selfie from her car, captioning it: 'It's Nobody's Fool promo day so just going to show off my hair one more time.'
About Nobody's Fool
Nobody's Fool is ITV's latest game show, hosted by Emily and her Rivals co-star Danny Dyer. The show features 10 players who must test their intellect in a 'smart house'. Contestants are required to lie and cheat their way to a potential £100,000 prize pot by convincing others they have aced daily quizzes, even when they haven't.
Rivals Season Two Anticipation
Emily's hair makeover comes ahead of the release of Rivals season two this Friday, which critics have already hailed as 'a glorious romping return' that lives up to its first season. Based on Dame Jilly Cooper's 1988 novel, the comedy-drama debuted on Disney+ in October 2024 and quickly became a hit, securing a renewal for a second series.
The all-star cast, including David Tennant, Alex Hassell, and Aidan Turner, return for more raucous exploits in Rutshire, teasing that fans should prepare for things to get racier than ever. Critics previewing the first four episodes have almost unanimously praised the new season, with many awarding five-star reviews.
Sarah Dempster of The Guardian gave the show five stars, musing: 'How best to reward such exquisitely knowing escapism? Ten stars? Ten thousand stars? Rivals is beyond earthly praise.' The Telegraph's Benji Wilson also awarded five stars, declaring: 'Rivals continues to refresh the parts that other television cannot reach – a heady mix of guilty pleasure, trenchant satire, rambunctious comedy and out-and-out trash.' Carol Midgley of The Times noted that 'despite its deliberate corniness, this is also gloriously uplifting television. It is unashamedly celebratory and perhaps even better than the last series.'
Den Of Geek's Lacy Baugher praised the show's 'sprawling cast' who 'remain thoroughly excellent throughout', singling out Emily for the highest praise, saying she 'steals much of this run of episodes, and makes her Sarah feel indispensable to the larger world of Rutshire in ways few of us likely expected.'
However, not all reviews were perfect. Rebecca Nicholson of the Financial Times gave the second series three stars, arguing that 'some of the storylines, particularly those about the TV industry, drag a little. Rivals needs more slapstick, more of those capers, to keep things as light as they need to be for it to really work.' Nick Hilton of The Independent also deducted a star but noted there is plenty to rave about, especially the acting: 'There is a sense, across the cast, that everyone is enjoying themselves immensely, whether they're romping on a pony or romping on a staircase. That's what makes Rivals such a rare treat in today's television landscape.'
Insights from the Cast
Sharing what viewers can look forward to, Danny Dyer said that series two would further explore the affair between his character, electronics businessman Freddie Jones, and romance author Lizzie Vereker, played by Katherine Parkinson. 'We're delving into the complications of two people who are madly in love but married with children to other people,' he explained. 'There are a lot of people rooting for infidelity, which is quite rare.'
Aidan Turner added that despite his character Declan O'Hara struggling to balance work demands as a TV journalist with his relationship with wife Maud, fans will be treated to a steamy shower scene. He described filming the racy sex scene with onscreen wife Victoria Smurfit as 'fun', telling the Daily Mirror: 'Victoria and I are very comfortable with each other. We've worked together quite intimately since the first series and we just clicked straight away – it might be the Irish thing.'
