Leading British & Irish talent join Disney+ "Rivals"
Dee Koppang O’Leary and Alexandra Brodski to direct episodes
Headshots available here: https://dam.gettyimages.com/s/cnwmqfr3jqsqnngvqtxwrw
15th May 2023: Disney+ has today announced further names joining the all-star line-up on the hotly anticipated upcoming drama “Rivals”, based on the celebrated novel by Jilly Cooper. Adding to the list of UK acting talent already announced are: Annabel Scholey (“The Split”, “The Sixth Commandement”) who plays Beattie Johnson, Maggie Steed (“Ten Percent”, Fisherman’s Friends 1 & 2”), David Calder (‘’Motherland’, ‘’Inside No. 9’’), Antony Byrne (‘’The Witcher’’, ‘’Outlander’’), Denise Black (‘‘Queer as Folk’’, ‘’Coronation Street’’), Bryony Hannah (‘’Call The Midwife’’, ‘’Unforgotten’’), Olivia Poulet (‘’Back’’, ‘’In the Thick of It’’) and Brendan Patricks (“Downton Abbey, “Gentleman Jack”). The drama is being produced by Happy Prince, which is part of ITV Studios. Filming is currently underway in the UK.
“Rivals” is part of Cooper’s bestselling Rutshire Chronicles, the iconic literary series packed full of wit, drama, romantic entanglements, and unforgettable characters. The story is set against the backdrop of the exploits, excess, and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England.
Scholey plays Beattie Johnson, a ruthless Fleet Street journalist who will do anything for a story. Steed plays Lady Gosling, the steely no-nonsense Chairwoman of the IBA (Independent Broadcasters Association). Calder plays Lady Gosling’s dogmatic right-hand man, Fergus Penney, who is an ex-Prebendary of the Church of England. Hannah plays Deirdre Kilpatrick a researcher at Corinium TV and human Eeyore, and Byrne plays Ginger Baines AKA “The Beast”, and Tony’s unscrupulous enforcer. Black plays Joyce Madden, Tony’s pathologically loyal secretary, with the Hampshires, a pair of human Barbour jackets, being played by Poulet as Hermione Hampshire and Patricks as Henry Hampshire.
Gary Lamont (“Boiling Point“, “Outlander“) joins the cast as Charles Fairburn, the dryly funny yet caustic and broken Controller of Programmes for Corinium TV. Hubert Burton (“Living“, “The Inheritance“) plays Gerald Middleton, Rupert’s besotted personal aide. Gabriel Tierney (‘’Enola Holmes 2’’, ‘’Winter King’’) plays Patrick O’Hara, the eldest child of Declan and Maud, an aspiring playwright and the apple of his mother’s eye. Lara Peake (‘’Mood’’ ‘’Born To Kill’’) plays Daysee Butler a pretty but ditsy PA at Corinium alongside Milo Callaghan (‘’FBI International’’, ‘’The Strangers’’) who joins the cast as Seb Burrows a clean-cut young producer pretending to know what he’s doing. Louis Landau also joins as Tony and Monica Baddingham’s adolescent son Archie.
Dee Koppang O’Leary (“The Split“, “The Crown“, “Bridgerton”) has come on board to direct episodes 5 and 7 of “Rivals”, and Alexandra Brodski (“Somewhere Boy“) will direct episodes 6 and 8.
The series is executive produced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins (‘’A Very English Scandal’’, ‘‘Holding’’, ‘’EastEnders’’) Alexander Lamb (‘’The Bay’’, ‘’We Hunt Together’’, ‘’Ackley Bridge’’), Felicity Blunt, Laura Wade, “Rivals” author Jilly Cooper and Director of Scripted Content for Disney+ EMEA Lee Mason. “Rivals” is produced by Happy Prince, which is part of ITV Studios, and the series is written by Treadwell-Collins with Olivier Award-winner Laura Wade (‘The Riot Club’).
The lead director is BAFTA-nominated Elliot Hegarty (‘’Ted Lasso’’, ‘’Cheaters’’, ‘’Trying’’), who also serves as Executive Producer on episodes 1-4. Eliza Mellor (‘’The Midwich Cuckoos’’, ‘’Behind Her Eyes’’, ‘’Poldark’’) serves as Series Producer. The UK original series will premiere on Disney+ in EMEA.
In addition to Treadwell-Collins and Wade, the series writers room also includes: Sophie Goodhart (‘The Baby’, ‘Sex Education’), Marek Horn, Mimi Hare & Clare Naylor (‘The Accidental Husband’), Dare Aiyegbayo (‘The Dumping Ground,’ ‘EastEnders’), Kefi Chadwick (‘Looted’, ‘Avoidance’), Tray Agyeman, and Sorcha Kurien Walsh (‘The Pink Pill’). The Casting Director is Kelly Valentine Hendry (‘Bridgerton’, ‘The Last Kingdom’, ‘Kaos’).
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About Happy Prince
Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, is a new drama label launched in 2020 by award-winning producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins. Placing the viewer squarely at the centre of all that they do, and proudly populist in their approach to each and every project, the label’s ambition is to tell quality authentic, intelligent and heartfelt stories that emotionally resonate with a broad audience. Its current slate includes; You & Me for ITVX, a, fresh, original and quintessentially modern love story; FASH for ITV, the story of Justin and John Fashanu’s tumultuous sibling relationship from Kwame Kwei-Armah; Holding for ITV, the critically acclaimed adaptation of Graham Norton's bestselling novel of the same name; and a series adaptation of Jim Cartwright's award-winning play The Rise & Fall of Little Voice with Miramax TV.
Prior to Happy Prince, Treadwell-Collins was Head of Television at Blueprint Pictures, where he was Executive Producer for the Golden Globe, Emmy, Critics Choice, Rose D'Or, RTS and BAFTA-winning series A Very English Scandal, starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw, written by Russell T Davies and directed by Stephen Frears. Before this he was Executive Producer of EastEnders, bringing Danny Dyer and his family into the Queen Vic and creating the show’s iconic ‘Who Killed Lucy?’ storyline with Alex Lamb, which climaxed after a year with a week of live episodes, reaching over 20 million viewers and winning BAFTA, RTS, NTA, MIND, British Soap and Attitude awards.
Alexander Lamb joined Happy Prince in 2021 and works as Executive Producer across the slate, working closely with Treadwell-Collins. In 2019 Lamb produced the second series of ITV ratings smash The Bay for Tall Story Pictures before joining BBC Studios as Creative Executive where he oversaw a number of developments and was Executive Producer on Alibi’s We Hunt Together. Before this he produced 2 series of celebrated Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge for The Forge, and was Story Producer for EastEnders, overseeing the BAFTA-winning “Who Killed Lucy” plots as well as creating some of EastEnders' most enduring and award-winning characters and storylines with Dominic over a period of fifteen years. He has also worked on Emmerdale, Waterloo Road and T4.