star was completely unrecognisable in a trailer for his racy new show Rivals. The TV hardman is playing self-made millionaire Freddie Jones in the adaptation of one of author Jilly Cooper’s “bonkbuster” novels about the exploits – and sexploits – of dashing Rupert Campbell-Black and his friends. And he looked worlds away from his Queen Vic days in the teaser.
The star, 46, was sporting a thick, bushy brown wig styled into a side parting, and also had a full moustache rather than his usual well-groomed stubble. He was seen looking suave in a tux in one scene, while in another he’d slipped on a tweed jacket. Rivals is set in the cut-throat world of TV production in the 1980s and follows Rupert and his wealthy, power-hungry circle.
Jilly’s books are known for their sizzling scenes, and the trailer suggests the Disney+ series will not disappoint, with plenty of long, steamy looks and a passionate clinch. The show has a starry cast, with Alex Hassell as Rupert and as his adversary Lord Tony Baddingham. Aidan Turner from Poldark plays presenter and journalist Declan O’Hara, while The Inbetweeners beauty is socialite Sarah Stratton.
Other cast members include Victoria Smurfit, Rufus Jones and Lisa McGrillis. Basil ‘Bas’ Baddingham. A synopsis for the show says: "The story is set against the backdrop of the drama, excess, and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England.
In the fictional county of Rutshire, a long-standing rivalry between tw.
