David Tennant, Aidan Turner and others join adaptation of Rivals

David Tennant, Alex Hassel, Aidan Turner and Danny Dyer have reportedly joined the cast of Disney+'s series adaptation of the period drama Rivals. 

Rivals is a 1988 novel written by Jilly Cooper. A romance series, the book follows the upper-class families of a fictional English county. The series adaptation of Rivals will explore the lives of the power-hungry social elites and the drama in their life. It will portray the world of British television of the 80s and the boiling point of rivalry between two men. 

The role of Lord Tony Baddingham will be essayed by Tennant. He is known to be the single-mindedly ambitious and egoistical head of Corinium Television. The role of Declan O'Hara, an intellectual TV presenter who gets wooed to leave the BBC for Corinium will be played by Turner. Meanwhile, Dyer will be playing Freddie Jones, a self-made millionaire.

The rest of the cast of Rivals includes Nafessa Williams, Bella Maclean, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit, Claire Rushbrook, Oliver Chris, Lisa McGrillis, Emily Atack, Rufus Jones, Luke Pasqualino, and Catriona Chandler.

Rivals is being adapted into a series by producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins along with Laura Wade. The lead director of the adaptation is Elliot Harty. Treadwell-Collins and Hegarty will also be executive producing alongside Alexander Lamb.