‘Rivals’ Adds Hayley Atwell & Rupert Everett for Season 2 — What Their Casting Means for Rupert

The latest casting news for Rivals Season 2, which is currently filming in the U.K., bodes well for learning more about Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell).

Hayley Atwell and Rupert Everett are set to guest star in the new season of the show based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s best-selling novel of the same name. Atwell will play Helen Gordon, Rupert’s ex-wife and the mother of his two children, Marcus and Tabitha. (Anastasia Griffith played the role in Season 1.) We cannot wait to see her interactions with his current slow burn love interest, Taggie (Bella Maclean). Everett will play her husband, Malise Gordon, who is also Rupert’s former show-jumping coach and mentor.

“Rivals is a landmark series for Disney+, quickly becoming one of our most beloved British UK Original dramas. I’m delighted to welcome Hayley and Rupert to our extraordinary family of actors,” Lee Mason, executive director of scripted originals, EMEA Disney+, said in a statement. “They are a perfect match for the world of Rutshire, so lovingly created by Dame Jilly and the team at Happy Prince.”

Added Dominic Treadwell-Collins, chief creative officer of Happy Prince, and Alexander Lamb, Creative Director of Happy Prince, “We are utterly thrilled to have Hayley and Rupert join us to play Jilly Cooper’s legendary characters Helen and Malise Gordon. Alongside our other new wonderful actors and truly brilliant returning cast, Rivals series two absolutely showcases the best of British and Irish talent. With further exciting guest stars to be announced, we can’t wait for everyone to see what’s next for the residents of Rutshire.”

Also joining the ensemble of the Hulu and Disney+ series are Maxim Ays, Holly Cattle, Oliver Dench, Amanda Lawrence, Bobby Lockwood, Eliot Salt, and Jonny Weldon. No character details have been announced.

When production began on Rivals Season 2 in May, it was announced that the returning cast consisted of: David Tennant as Lord Tony Baddingham, Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black, Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara, Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook, Bella Maclean as Taggie O’Hara, Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker, Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones, Victoria Smurfit as Maud O’Hara, Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham, Oliver Chris as James Vereker, Lisa McGrillis as Valerie Jones, Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton, Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton, Luke Pasqualino as Basil “Bas” Baddingham, Catriona Chandler as Caitlin O’Hara, and Annabel Scholey.

Now, it’s been revealed that also returning from Season 1 are Wendy Albiston as Mrs Makepiece, Jamie Bisping as Kevin Makepiece, Denise Black as Joyce Madden, Timothy Blore as Bobby Riches, Hubert Burton as Gerald Middleton, Antony Byrne as Ginger Baines, David Calder as Reverend Penny, Nino Furuhata as Toshi Yamazaki, Selina Griffiths as Dame Enid Spink, Bryony Hannah as Dierdre Kilpatrick, Rich Keeble as Brian Hetherington, Gilbert Kyem Jnr as Wesley Emerson, Gary Lamont as Charles Fairburn, Louis Landau as Archie Baddingham, Charlotte Mangel as Nathalie Perrault, Brendan Patricks as Henry Hampshire, Lara Peake as Daysee Butler, Olivia Poulet as Hermoine Hampshire, Gary Shelford as Mr Makepiece, Emma Shipp as Shelley Makepiece, Guy Siner as Bishop Hubert Brenton, Maggie Steed as Lady Gosling, Dan Tetsall as Steve Meadows, and Gabriel Tierney as Patrick O’Hara.

Rivals Season 2 will consist of 12 episodes and continue to follow the power struggles, ambition, and rivalries of those in the Cotswolds countryside and British television — both personally and professionally — in the 1980s.

Season 1 ended with the shocking cliffhanger of Tony and Cameron’s fight in his office, resulting in her hitting him in the head with an award. While it looked like he could have been killed, we know he is very much alive — and something tells us that’s going to mean trouble for Cameron and Rupert, especially since Tony knows about their relationship.

Rivals is executive produced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Alexander Lamb, Felicity Blunt, Elliot Hegarty, Laura Wade, Rivals author Dame Jilly Cooper, and, for Disney+ EMEA scripted content, Jonny Richards. Eliza Mellor is a producer. Treadwell-Collins, Wade, Sophie Goodhart, Sam Hoare, Kefi Chadwick, Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor, Sorcha Kurien-Walsh, and Dare Aiyegbayo serve as writers. Elliot Hegarty, Jamie J Johnson, and Dee Koppang O’Leary are directors.

Rivals, Season 2, TBD, Hulu