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CAST MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE INCLUDE DAVID TENNANT, ALEX HASSELL, NAFESSA WILLIAMS, BELLA MACLEAN, DANNY DYER, KATHERINE PARKINSON, EMILY ATACK and MORE
ALSO TAKING TO THE CARPET, SHOW CREATORS FELICITY BLUNT, DOMINIC TREADWELL-COLLINS, ELLIOT HEGARTY, ALONGSIDE CELEBRITY GUESTS FLEUR EAST, STANLEY TUCCI, PENNY LANCASTER, SINITTA, LAURA WHITMORE, DERMOT O’LEARY and MORE…PLUS 80s LEGEND TONY HADLEY FORMER MEMBER OF SPANDAU BALLET WHO SANG AT THE PREMIERE WITH GOLD,ONLY WHEN YOU LEAVE and TRUE
Download RIVALS World Premiere images HERE
LONDON, 12 May ‒ Tonight, Disney+ hosted the World Premiere at London’s BFI IMAX for the highly-anticipated second season of "RIVALS". The Hulu Original series will roll out in two six-episode batches, beginning with a three-episode premiere on 15 May, followed by the second batch later this year on Disney+ in the UK.
The cast of the award-winning series were out in force at the screening event including David Tennant (‘Doctor Who’, ‘The Thursday Murder Club’), Alex Hassell (‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’, ‘The Boys’), Aidan Turner (‘Poldark, ‘The Hobbit Trilogy’), Nafessa Williams (‘Black Lightning’, ‘Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody’), Bella Maclean (‘Sex Education’, ‘London Tide’), Katherine Parkinson (‘Humans’, ‘Here We Go’), Danny Dyer (‘EastEnders', ‘The Football Factory’), Victoria Smurfit (‘Bloodlands’, ‘Once Upon A Time’), Claire Rushbrook (‘Sherwood’, ‘Ali and Ava’), Oliver Chris (‘The Crown’, ‘Trying’), Lisa McGrillis (‘Maternal’, ‘Mum’), Emily Atack (‘The Emily Atack Show’, ‘The Inbetweeners’), Rufus Jones (‘W1A’, ‘Home’) and Luca Pasqualino (‘The Musketeers’, ‘Shantaram’).
In the second season, the battle for the Central South West television franchise reaches fever pitch as the war between Corinium and Venturer enters a dangerous new phase. More ruthless than ever, Tony Baddingham is determined to dismantle his rivals piece-by-piece, weaponising scandal and manipulating those closest to him to maintain his grip on power. Amidst the hedonistic glamour of 80s excess, the personal lives of our Rutshire heroes spiral into chaos. Marriages fracture under the weight of ambition, illicit affairs threaten to shatter families, and long-buried secrets ignite with explosive consequences. As rivalries push everyone to the brink, loyalties are tested and hearts are broken in the pursuit of victory. But what is the true cost of war?
“Rivals”, made by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, is executive produced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins (‘A Very English Scandal’, ‘Holding’, ‘EastEnders’), Alexander Lamb (‘Ackley Bridge’, ‘The Bay’, ‘We Hunt Together’), Olivier Award-winning playwright Laura Wade (‘The Riot Club’), Felicity Blunt, Elliot Hegarty (‘Cheaters’, ‘Ted Lasso’), “Rivals” author Dame Jilly Cooper and for Disney+, Jonny Richards. Eliza Mellor (‘The Midwich Cuckoos’, ‘Behind Her Eyes’, ‘Poldark’) returns as Series Producer. It is written by Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Laura Wade, Sophie Goodhart, Sam Hoare, Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor, Sorcha Kurien-Walsh and Dare Aiyegbayo, directed by Elliot Hegarty, Jamie J Johnson and Dee Koppang O’Leary. “Rivals” is based on the novel of the same name, part of Cooper’s bestselling Rutshire Chronicles. The series was commissioned by VP Scripted Content for Disney+ EMEA, Lee Mason.
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All episodes of Season 1 are available to stream now on Disney+ internationally, and Hulu in the U.S.
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ABOUT HAPPY PRINCE
Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, is a drama label launched in 2019 by award-winning producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins. Placing the viewer squarely at the centre of all that they do, the label’s ambition is to tell quality authentic, intelligent and heartfelt stories that emotionally resonate with a broad audience. Its current slate includes; Jim Cartwright's award-winning play The Rise & Fall of Little Voice with Miramax TV, Daughter for ITV and ITVX, written by BAFTA and RTS award-winning writer Sarah Phelps and Wideacre, the international bestselling novel from Philippa Gregory, the acclaimed author of The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen while previous shows include the adaptation of Graham Norton’s novel Holding and modern love story You & Me for ITVX and of course RIVALS for Disney+ and Hulu.
Prior to Happy Prince, Treadwell-Collins was Head of Television at Blueprint Pictures, where he was Executive Producer for the Golden Globe, Emmy, Critics Choice, Rose D'Or, RTS and BAFTA-winning series A Very English Scandal, starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw, written by Russell T Davies and directed by Stephen Frears. Before this he was Executive Producer of EastEnders, bringing Danny Dyer and his family into the Queen Vic and creating the show’s iconic ‘Who Killed Lucy?’ storyline with Alex Lamb, which climaxed after a year with a week of live episodes, reaching over 20 million viewers and winning BAFTA, RTS, NTA, MIND, British Soap and Attitude awards. Dominic also exec produced and wrote the pilot episode for series one of RIVALS.
Alexander Lamb joined Happy Prince in 2021 and works as Executive Producer across the slate, working closely with Treadwell-Collins. In 2019 Lamb produced the second series of ITV ratings smash The Bay for Tall Story Pictures part of ITV Studios before joining BBC Studios as Creative Executive where he oversaw a number of developments and was Executive Producer on Alibi’s We Hunt Together. Before this he produced 2 series of celebrated Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge for The Forge, and was Story Producer for EastEnders, overseeing the BAFTA-winning “Who Killed Lucy” plots as well as creating some of EastEnders' most enduring and award-winning characters and storylines with Dominic over a period of fifteen years. He has also worked on Emmerdale, Waterloo Road and T4. More recently Alex exec produced YOU & ME for ITV and RIVALS for Disney+ and Hulu.
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