Jilly Cooper’s 1988 bonkbuster has been adapted into a smash hit TV series on Disney+, with a stellar all-star cast including David Tennant, Danny Dyer, Aidan Turner and Emily Atack

The Rivals cast and crew spoke to British comedian and TV host Sue Perkins at a London preview about the series, joined by Cooper herself. As they spoke about their characters and the challenge of adapting Cooper's writing, we've distilled their conversation into a guide to each Rivals character and what to expect from the series.

With Rivals now airing on Disney Plus, it's time to get reacquainted with Jilly Cooper's well-known book series.

A new eight-part drama, based on one of Dame Jilly Cooper's so-called "bonkbusters" and partly filmed in the West, is being streamed. Rivals, released in 1988, has been adapted for a Disney+ series with an all-star cast including Aidan Turner and David Tennant.

It was, of course, Riders by Dame Jilly Cooper, the first in the Rutshire Chronicles, which has sold over one million copies in the UK since its publication in 1985. Now, the second novel in the series,

So I was wary when I heard Rivals was being adapted for TV. How could anything capture the brilliance of Jilly Cooper? The humour? The heart? The gripping plot? Because that's the