David Tennant teases nude scenes in ‘racy’ Jilly Cooper adaptation

Doctor Who star David Tennant has promised nude scenes in an upcoming adaptation of one of Jilly Cooper’s famously risqué novels.

While Tennant has made headlines recently with his staunch trans allyship, he does also work and is set to be seen in Rivals, based on Cooper’s 1988 novel, the second of her Rutshire chronicles.

Tennant will star as Lord Tony Baddingham, the controller of Corinium Television, as he opposes local politician Rupert Campbell-Black (His Dark Materials star Alex Hassell). Caught in the crossfire of the rivalry are TV presenter Declan O’Hara (Poldark‘s Aidan Turner), his glamorous wife and teenage children.

Baddingham hires Cameron Cook (Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody’s Nafessa Williams) to produce O’Hara’s new show, despite the pair hating each other, while a rival group tries to steal the franchise, leading to love blooming and dying, plenty of sex, and explosive drama.

The official synopsis describes Rivals as “packed full of romantic entanglements, dastardly deals, sex… set against the backdrop of the excess and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 80s England”.

According to Tennant, the series is set to be as spicy as the book, with lots of nudity. Speaking to gay radio host Scott Mills on the The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Friday (20 September), the star described the show as “a little racy”.

Asked to point on a diagram which body parts will be on show, Tennant quipped: “Well, keep your ruler moving. Wave it freely around.”

It’s not the first time it’s been suggested that Rivals will feature plenty of nude scenes: earlier this month, producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins said: “We’ve been equal opportunities in our nudity. There’s a willy for every pair of tits.”

According to The Times, the show features a scene in which politician Campbell-Black plays tennis naked and loses because “his massive penis is judged to be over the line”. And there’s a note to die-hard Cooper fans: “This scene is shot exactly as written, you will see a lot of willies.”

Also among the cast are former EastEnders favourite Danny Dyer and Sex Education’s Bella Maclean.

Rivals should be available to stream on Disney+ from 18 October.

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