Rupert Campbell-Black, wild parties and glorious moustaches: first peek at new Jilly Cooper TV adaptation

Dame Jilly Cooper fans are in for a treat as the first trailer of the hotly anticipated adaptation of Rutshire “bonkbuster” Rivals has been revealed.

The teaser offers a sneak peek into the glamorous, cut-throat world of 1980s television – complete with an early glimpse of Alex Hassell as “dashing ex-Olympian, Tory MP and incorrigible rake” Rupert Campbell-Black.

“This is going to be marvellous,” says David Tennant’s Lord Tony Baddingham in the opening sequence.

We hope so. The volume of both 1980s hair and moustaches in this 42-second clip certainly promises as much.

Watch the trailer below

The press release bills the eight-part blockbuster series as “packed full of romantic entanglements, dastardly deals, sex and wit”.

The release date for the Disney+ adaptation has not yet been released. All we know so far is that it is set to debut on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ in other countries this year.

So what else can be gleaned from a rigorous analysis of the trailer while we wait? There are horses. Polka dots, parties, a smattering of tweed, a cameo appearance by the iconic red stilettos from the book’s original cover, fabulous houses, plus Rupert on what looks to be a private jet – and later getting slapped in the face at one of the said parties.

That’s not all – a second wave of still images has also been released, including Luke Pasqualino (Freddie from Skins) as Bas Baddingham on a horse (and where is your hat, Mr Baddingham?!).

The stellar cast was first announced in 2023, with Poldark actor Aidan Turner, Inbetweeners star Emily Atak and EastEnders icon Danny Dyer among the top British talent confirmed.

Dame Jilly, who is also an executive producer of the series, said at the time that she was “utterly enchanted” to announce the “all-star line-up”.

“[It features] some of the best acting talent that the British Isles has to offer, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better ensemble cast,” she said.

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