Bringing Rutshire glitz and glamour to a dreary, rainy evening in London, the Rivals cast showed up in force to celebrate the release of the hit Jilly Cooper show's second season.
Descending on Waterloo's BFI IMAX, David Tennant, Danny Dyer, Victoria Smurfit, Aidan Turner and many more famous faces lined up on the red carpet, ready to show off their acting chops to an eagerly awaiting audience.
While the salacious, saucy scenes and giggle-worthy lines were enough of a draw for millions of viewers, another unique attraction for fans of the show was the undeniable chemistry and synergy that just oozed so effortlessly out of the stellar cast as they interacted with one another - both on-screen and off.
Showing off just how much they really do like each other in real life, the cast conducted their interviews for the evening in pairs. Victoria, who plays Maud, the wife of famous broadcaster Declan O'Hara, walked the carpet with David's on-screen wife Claire Rushbrook.
© Getty ImagesDressed in a light mint-coloured crystal-embellished one-shoulder Stella McCartney maxi dress, the Irish actress beamed as she chatted with her co-star, who wore a kaftan-style burgundy midi-dress.
Stopping to chat with HELLO!, the duo reflected on the cast's famed chemistry and said: "It's fair to say for all of us it was like just slipping back into a comfortable warm side of the bed. It really felt like no time had passed at all. The minute we all got back to set, it was like opening the door to the sandpit and all the kids racing out and eating sand - and that was us!"
"The hardest thing that I found was waiting between season one and season two to find out if you were doing season two," Victoria, who starred in Ballykissangel, added.
Elsewhere, Motherland star and James Vereker actor, Oliver Chris, spilt on what he thought was the secret ingredient to his castmates' tantalising bond. He explained: "I think we're quite lucky. It's no secret that we all get on sickeningly well, and it was just lovely to have the opportunity to come back and try and recapture a bit of that lightning in a bottle with our mates. It's really fun."
His co-star and newish to the fold, Annabel Scholey, plays Emily Atack's character, Sarah Stratton's rival, talk show presenter Beattie Johnson. She revealed the cast were part of a big WhatsApp group and that "people genuinely just enjoy each other's company" on set.
Emily arrived at the prestigious film venue in a plunging, silver gown with a dramatically sculpted waistline and joined her on-screen husband, Rufus Jones, for pictures and interviews on the red carpet.
She gushed over her castmates and told us they were all invited to her upcoming nuptials to Dr Alistair Garner. "They are coming to every single thing I ever do for the rest of my life!"
"We're having to attend everyone's weddings, funerals," her co-star chimed in. Emily also revealed that he would be delivering a reading on her big day. "He's my telly hubby, so yeah, he's going to be doing a reading!" Rufus joked, "I'm a fantasy husband, and she's just having to settle for the real thing."
© Getty ImagesJilly's last hurrah
Derived from Jilly's Rutshire Chronicles book series, the author was heavily involved in the process of making the TV show and was an executive producer before she sadly died in the middle of filming the second season, aged 88, in October 2025.
"She was very quietly spoken, so you'd have to lean in close to hear what she would say, and then she would just say something magnificent that would make you feel like a million dollars," Claire remembered when asked about the beloved writer.
Victoria added, "She was one of life's amazing sunshiny, champagne, sparkly cheerleaders," and Oliver noted: "She's our figurehead, she originated this whole thing.
© Dave Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Im"It has been born of her energy and her spirit, her creativity, and to lose her was a tragedy. I hope that we can just capture some of her magic and keep it alive."
Annabel reminisced about the "amazing" garden party Jilly threw for the cast before she died and revealed: "We were all there, and it was six weeks before she died, and she was just in the best form ever. She was mischievous and glamorous and wonderful, and it was surreal because we'd all been to see her lovely house and her garden and were looking forward to all of this.
© Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Ima"It's really, really sad that she's not here, but I think it gave everyone an extra bit of oomph to make it as brilliant as possible for her!"
