Rivals: Official teaser trailer
Exclusive
King Charles’ hometown of Tetbury, in Gloucestershire may soon be besieged by hundreds of “Rutshire” fans of Jilly Cooper’s new raunchy drama, Rivals, set in the Eighties.
Just three miles from the King’s home at Highgrove, Tetbury was made over as fictional “Cotchester” in the so-called “bonkbuster” story, soon to go out on Disney +.
It may even be a repeat of the popularity enjoyed by Clarkson’s Farm, which saw fans blocking roads, and descending on nearby picture postcard Chipping Norton.
But Sue Leyfield from Visit Tetbury was positive about hundreds of TV fans arriving in the pretty coloured Cotswolds' town next month.
“We do welcome new visitors,” she said.
Filming was done in the centre of Tetbury, she said.
“They were good and very understanding while they were filming. They shot on Long Street, and in the Church.
“In fact we were quite excited to see so many stars and recognisable faces like David Tennant, Emily Atak and Aidan Turner.
“Julie Cooper's [the writer] house is nearby, the other side of Stroud.
“We get a lot of visitors anyway because of Highgrove, and the Arboretum which are only two to three miles away.”
Asked if they were expecting a big influx, like Clarkson's Farm (Prime Video) experienced, she said: “It is only going out on Disney + so we don’t really know how many will turn up.
“We could cope with an influx, we could.
“We’d be very happy!”
She added: “Anything that helps the High Street and local businesses at the moment is positive.”
As part of the transformation, Tetbury road signs turned into 'Cotchester' signs, while many businesses in the town's main Long Street had their signage removed and replaced by fictitious 1980s displays.
The drama is set in 1988.
Rivals is the second novel in Cooper's Rutshire Chronicles series.
The TV adaptation features an all-star cast and launches on the streaming service on October 18.
The series dives headfirst into the ruthless world of independent television in 1986.
In the fictional county of Rutshire, a long-standing rivalry between two powerful men is about to boil over.
Alex Hassell (The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Boys) plays dashing ex-Olympian, Tory Member of Parliament and incorrigible rake, Rupert Campbell-Black.
David Tennant (Doctor Who) plays Rupert’s single-mindedly ambitious and egotistical Rutshire neighbour Lord Tony Baddingham, controller of fictional Corinium Television.
Caught in the crossfire is TV presenter Declan O’Hara, played by Aidan Turner (Poldark).
One TV insider who saw the first episode said: “Jilly Cooper’s Rivals has more rutting than most have ever seen. Mary Whitehouse would have been very busy!”
