Sumith Prasad
The filming of Disney+’s historical series ‘Rivals’ has begun in England. Based on Jilly Cooper’s eponymous novel, which is a part of her novel series ‘Rutshire Chronicles,’ the series revolves around the longstanding rivalry between the neighbors Olympian turned politician Rupert Campbell-Black and television executive Tony Baddingham. Set in the fictional English county of Rutshire, the series is filmed at several locations in England.
The series is the first production to use the “TBY2” facility at The Bottle Yard Studios, which is located in Bristol, South West England. The facility has previously hosted the production of several films and shows such as ‘Sanditon’ and ‘Poldark.’ The filming of the series also took place in Bristol city center, where a scene related to the British Television Awards was shot. The crew was spotted around Harbour Hotel Bristol, located on Corn Street. Danny Dyer, who plays Freddie Jones in the historical drama, was spotted in Queen Square in Bristol. A pub named The Battleaxes, located in Wraxall, is another Bristol location.
Another significant location of the series is Wiltshire, specifically Corsham High Street. Aidan Turner, who plays Declan O’Hara in the show, was spotted filming the scenes of the same in Tetbury, a town in Gloucestershire, as well. Dyer and David Tennant, who plays the co-protagonist Lord Tony Baddingham, filmed pivotal scenes in a 16th-century country house in Gloucestershire.
Tennant is playing Baddingham after portraying the titular character in ‘Doctor Who,’ D.I. Alec Hardy in ‘Broadchurch,’ Kilgrave in ‘Jessica Jones,’ Don in ‘The Sandman,’ General Krieg in ‘The Legend of Vox Machina,’ Detective Emmett Carver in ‘Gracepoint,’ etc. Alex Hassell, who plays Ross in ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ and Translucent in ‘The Boys,’ plays Rupert Campbell-Black. He is also known for playing Metatron in ‘His Dark Materials,’ Jason in ‘Violent Night,’ Louis in ‘Suburbicon,’ etc. Turner plays Declan after portraying Kili in the ‘Hobbit’ film series while Dyer (Freddie) is known for playing Mick Carter in ‘EastEnders.’
The rest of the cast includes Victoria Smurfit (‘Trial & Retribution’) as Maud O’Hara, Bella Maclean (‘Silent Witness’) as Taggie O’Hara, Catriona Chandler (‘Enola Holmes 2’) as Caitlin O’Hara, Nafessa Williams (‘Black Lightning’) as Cameron Cook, Katherine Parkinson (‘Doc Martin’) as Lizzie Vereker, Oliver Chris (‘Motherland’) as James Vereker, Lisa McGrillis (‘Last Night in Soho’) as Sarah Jones, etc. Claire Rushbrook (‘Secrets & Lies’), Luke Pasqualino (‘Snowpiercer’), Emily Atack (‘Get Lucky’), Rufus Jones (‘Hunderby’), Lara Peake (‘Mood’), Annabel Scholey (‘The Split’), Maggie Steed (‘Ten Percent’), etc. are part of the cast as well.
Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Laura Wade wrote the eight-episode series. Dominic is known for executive producing ‘A Very British Scandal’ and ‘EastEnders.’ Wade, on the other hand, wrote the film ‘The Riot Club.’ Elliot Hegarty, who is known for directing the episodes of ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Cheaters’ is directing the series.
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