The Bafta-winning actor Katherine Parkinson has lauded the television series Rivals for its \u201cradical\u201d depiction of sex from a woman\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a preview screening in Bristol, where much of the series was filmed, Parkinson, who plays the romance author Lizzie Vereker in the show, said there were not enough examples on television of a woman\u2019s view of sex.<\/p>\n
The award-winning Disney+ show follows the high-stakes world of British television with the backdrop of the Cotswolds countryside in the fictional county of Rutshire. It has become renowned for its frequent, racy sex scenes featuring many of the diverse cast of characters.<\/p>\n
The first three episodes of the second series landed on the streaming platform on Friday, and fans of the first season\u2019s notorious scenes will not be disappointed as the characters engage in what the Guardian TV critic\u2019s five-star review called a \u201ccrisis bonk\u201d<\/a> within the first 10 minutes.<\/p>\n Parkinson, who appeared in her own sex scene with her co-star Danny Dyer in the final episode of the first season, told the audience at the Everyman Bristol: \u201cThe great thing that Rivals does is \u2026 there are truths being told that I don\u2019t feel that I\u2019ve necessarily seen \u2026 there\u2019s a sort of bravery to that. And it sort of feels quite radical.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause Jilly [Cooper] wrote brilliantly from the female perspective about sex. And oddly, we still haven\u2019t seen a lot of that on television.\u201d<\/p>\n Parkinson, who won a Bafta last week for her role as Rachel in Here We Go, was joined by her co-star Annabel Scholey, who plays the ruthless journalist Beattie Johnson, the creative team from the production company, Happy Prince, the mayor of the West of England, Helen Godwin, and members of Bristol\u2019s Bottle Yard Studios.<\/p>\n The series, based on Jilly Cooper\u2019s Rutshire Chronicles, was filmed at the studios, which are owned by the city council, with many of the locations featured in the series within a 30-mile radius around Bristol.<\/p>\n The screening celebrated the role the region had played in creating the popular series and as a champion for moving film-making outside London\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n Godwin said: \u201cThe West Country is proud to be the real-life Rutshire, somewhere seen by people all around the world and something which is inspiring more visitors to come to, and fall in love with, our region.<\/p>\n \u201cRivals being made here has directly and indirectly helped add millions of pounds to the country\u2019s fastest-growing regional economy.\u201d<\/p>\n