Diksha Sundriyal
Hulu’s ‘Rivals‘ takes the audience back to Rutshire, where the rivalry between Rupert Campbell-Black and Tony Baddingham gets worse as each tries to destroy the other. In between this, other characters also become major players, picking sides and being forced to reconsider their loyalties as things start to get serious and the stakes get higher. Even with all the cutthroat competition that keeps everyone on their toes, the show delivers a lavish and picturesque background. The locales of Rutshire are as beautiful as ever, with the characters living in eye-catching locations, which are second to none. Freddie and Rupert get to live in quite stunning houses, which also serve as the major locations in the show’s second season. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Freddie’s House Belongs to the Fans of Rivals
Freddie and Val get an upgrade in the second season as they move to their new house, named Bella Vista. Val boasts that it’s great to live in a place where you can’t see your house from the driveway. In reality, Bella Vista is known as Foxfield, located on Rudry Road in Lisvane, Cardiff. The gated property is spread over 24 acres and is a seven-bedroom house, serving as an extraordinary location. The house was constructed in 1999, though the property had been in the Thomas family since 1980. In 2025, it was dubbed the most expensive property in Wales. When it was put up for sale, it had an asking price of £8 million (over $10 million).
Nicknamed “Peter’s Pie Palace,” Foxfield was reportedly offered for filming by the family that currently owns the property. When the mother and daughter watched the first season of ‘Rivals,’ they became instant fans. With the beautiful locations that appear in the show, the women believed that their house would fit right in. Wishing for their house to be on ‘Rivals,’ they decided to reach out to the show’s creators, who were glad to have landed another wonderful location to film the second season. It turned out to be great because not only did it bring Freddie and Val into a new home, but it also served as a critical location for some very important scenes in Season 2.
Rupert’s House is an 18th-century Georgian
One of the major locations in ‘Rivals’ is Rupert Campbell-Black’s house. Called Penscombe Court, the house serves as the center of Rupert’s hedonistic lifestyle, while also being the place where we see him in some of his most vulnerable moments. The scenes featuring the house are filmed at Ammerdown House in Kilmersdon, Somerset. The 18th-century Georgian house is owned by the Jolliffe family, for whom it was designed by Wyatt in 1788. The private property now serves as a retreat, among other things, but the main building has doubled for fictional locations a couple of times now.
Apart from playing Rupert’s house in ‘Rivals,’ Ammerdown House has also made an appearance in Netflix’s 2022 adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion.’ BBC One’s three-part miniseries, ‘The Pursuit of Love,’ also employed the location among several other iconic houses on its roster. The house fits in with the many other lavish locations of ‘Rivals,’ complementing Rupert’s personality. It represents his deep aristocratic roots, establishing him and his family as people with strong connections in society, while also grounding him in a way that makes him charming and intimidating at the same time.
Read More: Rivals: Are Corinium and Venturer Based on Real TV Stations?
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