Rivals star Alex Hassell has revealed that Dame Jilly Cooper visited the set of series two just days before she died, aged 88, earlier this month
Jilly Cooper visited the set of Rivals just days before she died. The writer, who died aged 88 earlier this month, was the author of the bonkbuster novel that the beloved show is based on.
The 2024 drama, Rivals, premiered on Disney Plus to great acclaim and saw Alex Hassell in the lead role of Rupert Campbell-Black, a Tory politician and former Olympic showjumper who goes head to head with David Tennant’s tyrannical network TV boss, Tony Baddingham.
Jilly wrote the original novel in the 1980s. Production on series two, which follows the second half of the book, began earlier this year and, according to Alex, Jilly was able to see the set before she died on 5 October.
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Alex told Metro: “We’re all devastated. She was on set just the week before and, obviously, her voice and her character and her sense of creativity were such a huge driving force of the show in terms of the source material.
“She would okay everything, or we would hear that things have changed because she didn’t think that certain things characters do are quite right or representative of her view of the characters. But we also really want to honour her and try and do our best to keep making the show as good as possible.”
He also teased info about series two and said it was “bigger”, “funnier” and “darker” than the last. “And really, season two is so much [more] interesting because it’s bigger, it’s funnier, it’s darker, it’s more serious, it’s more challenging. It’s brighter as well, it’s wilder. It’s everything pulled into it, every dimension.”
At the time of her death, Alex posted a sweet tribute to Jilly and revealed what she thought of the first few episodes’ scripts. He posted a picture of himself kissing the author on the cheek.
In the caption, he wrote: “So sad to have lost our wonderful Jilly. So incredibly grateful to have gotten to know her. This magical woman changed my life.
“Quite aside from the great wealth of joy, comfort and excitement her writing has given so many, she was such a generous spirited person to be around.
“She was so kind and supportive to me in portraying her hero Rupert. I’m so pleased I got to see her on set the other day, and pretty much the last things she said to me was that she was proud of me.
“Gorgeous and caring to the last. She shall be greatly missed. We will continue to do our utmost to honour her. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this difficult time.”
Jilly was best known for writing The Rutshire Chronicles, a series of books that follow the scandalous bedroom behaviour of the upper classes. Rivals is the second book, as Riders, a novel following showjumpers and featuring Rupert as the villain, was first.
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