From familiar power players to formidable new arrivals, season two expands the Rivals ensemble in bold new ways
Rutshire is larger, louder and juicier than ever, as Rivals Season 2 returns. Familiar faces find themselves entangled in ambition, attraction and rivalry that's messier and more competitive than ever. Find out what the cast had to say about the latest series in our cast interviews, then read on for our ultimate guide of who’s who in Rivals Season 2.
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Retired show-jumper, Conservative Member of Parliament, and Tony Baddingham’s arch-nemesis as a founder of Venturer. After the successful launch of his consortium, his love life somehow gets even more complicated, and he starts to crack under the pressure.
If Rupert looks familiar, you’ve probably spotted Hassell in The Tragedy of Macbeth or as Translucent in The Boys.
A sharp-suited TV executive at the centre of the franchise war with Rupert, he protects his power with blackmail and a fiery temper, dragging his enemies’ secrets into the light of day and pressuring his staff into submission.
Best known for his role as the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, Tennant has also starred in The Thursday Murder Club and voiced Scrooge McDuck in DuckTales.
Wooed away from the BBC, he arrives at Corinium expecting a golden opportunity, only to resign once he sees the reality of working with Tony Baddingham. He’s a gifted journalist with a short fuse, and the last person you’d want figuring out he’s been played.
Anyone who remembers Ross in Poldark or Kíli in The Hobbit trilogy will recognise him right away, probably by the eyebrows.
Tender-hearted but no pushover, Declan’s middle child is usually the one holding the family together while keeping an eye on her younger sister. She comes across as gentle, though she can be stubborn when it counts.
She played Jem in Sex Education and Bella Wilfer in the National Theatre’s London Tide.
The American TV executive Tony brings into Corinium to produce Declan’s talk show, she arrives determined to reach the top of the hierarchy and will do anything to get there. Anyone who mistakes her for an easy mark is in for a miserable surprise.
Her previous work includes Thunder in Black Lightning and a role in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
As the deputy prime minister’s new wife, she knows how to turn attention into leverage and never wastes an opportunity. She’s a talented social climber and knows exactly how to use the people around her to get what she wants.
Best known for playing Charlotte in The Inbetweeners UK, Atak has also showcased a more personal side of her comedy in The Emily Atack Show.
A self-made electronics millionaire who doesn’t quite fit into Rutshire’s old-money crowd, he brings refreshingly blunt honesty to a world obsessed with status and fake niceties.
His unmistakable Cockney accent has barged into living rooms via Eastenders, The Football Factory, and Mr. Bigstuff.
A romantic novelist who’s been overlooked by her TV-presenter husband for far too long, she’s had enough of being sidelined in her own life. She’s polite about it, but she notices more than people assume.
She has a gift for sounding politely appalled, as seen in Humans and Here We Go.
Tony’s charismatic younger brother runs Cotchester’s hotspot, Bar Sinister. He may have family ties to Corinium, but his loyalty lies elsewhere.
Since getting his start in acting as Freddie in Skins…
