Camilla will meet members of the cast and crew during filming
12:18, 08 Dec 2025
The Queen has arrived on the set of the Disney+ TV drama Rivals for a behind-the-scenes tour. Camilla will meet members of the cast and crew during filming of the upcoming second series of the hit show.
During the visit on location in Bristol, the Queen will learn how the production has been a boost for creative industries in the South West of England, providing training and opportunities for young people.
The drama, which is based on the book written by Dame Jilly Cooper, stars David Tennant as TV mogul Lord Tony Baddingham, Alex Hassell as lothario Rupert Campbell-Black, and Bella Maclean as Taggie O’Hara. Also featuring are Poldark star Aidan Turner as TV journalist Declan O’Hara, and Nafessa Williams as producer Cameron Cook.
Filming on the second series began in May and the show will return with an extended 12-episode second series in 2026. Set in the 1980s, with the backdrop of the Cotswolds countryside, the award-winning Disney+ drama follows the high-stakes world of British television as careers, marriages and reputations hang by a thread when professional and personal lives collide.
Based on the best-selling novel by Dame Jilly, the second series will see Lord Baddingham stop at nothing to keep his TV company Corinium’s empire unrivalled.
Dame Jilly died in October at the age of 88 after sustaining a fatal head injury during a fall at her Gloucestershire home. Following her death, the Queen paid tribute, describing her as a “legend” and a “wonderfully witty and compassionate friend to me and so many”.
The pair were long-standing friends, and the author based her fictional seducer and showjumping lothario Campbell-Black partly on the Queen’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.
During the visit, the Queen will meet with members of Dame Jilly’s family, and will also tour the costume department and view outfits and designs, which showcase the 1980s style and fashion of the era.
Featuring an all-star cast, the first series was released in October 2024 and became Disney+’s most successful general entertainment premiere in the UK.
The series has received international acclaim, generating 11 award wins and 32 nominations, including an International Emmy for Best Drama Series in November.
