![\"1-SE-21-0-CoverD\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1-SE-21-0-CoverD-9435baa.jpg\" "\\"1-SE-21-0-CoverD\\"")
<\/p>\nThis article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.<\/p>\n
Were you thrilled by the reaction to the first series?<\/p>\n
We were all quite shocked. There\u2019s something about Rivals that the world needs at the moment. It\u2019s unapologetic. It’s not filtered. You don’t need trigger warnings. It\u2019s just the eighties in all its glory. Freddie\u2019s not like the other boys with their six-packs. He\u2019s chubby and lovable and kind and friendly, and I adore playing him.<\/p>\n
Do people ask you when Freddie and Lizzie are going to get together?<\/p>\n
People have really taken to them. You don\u2019t normally root for people having an affair, but they\u2019re soul mates. Plus, Lizzie\u2019s husband is a t***. Freddie and Lizzie should be together, but they didn’t meet at the right time.<\/p>\n
Do you worry about doing sex scenes?<\/p>\n
I just go with it, baby. I’ve been around a long time and it\u2019s part of the job. It always feels a bit weird but you\u2019ve got to laugh about it. I go full frontal in this series, if they keep it in the edit. It\u2019s a night shoot, and it was cold, and I\u2019d better not say any more. Nobody\u2019s under any pressure to be naked if they don\u2019t want to, but if a woman\u2019s getting her breasts out, why shouldn\u2019t I get it all out? I\u2019ve got breasts as well, to be fair.<\/p>\n
Have you told your family?<\/p>\n
Yes, and my daughter\u2019s asked for the time codes so she can skip that scene!<\/p>\n
What are your memories of the eighties?<\/p>\n
I was at school, looking up at the adults who were smoking and drinking and dancing with big shoulder pads. I grew up in a single parent family on a council estate so there wasn\u2019t any glamour in my life.<\/p>\n
You started working in television in the early nineties, not long after this period. Do you recall the intense rivalry or misogyny depicted in Rivals?<\/p>\n
Not really, but my first ever job was Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren, a powerhouse of a woman. In fact, a lot of my first jobs were with very strong women.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rivals is available to stream on Disney+. Season 2 premieres on Friday 15 May 2026. Sign-up to Disney+ from \u00a35.99 a month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Add Rivals to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app<\/a> \u2013 download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.<\/p>\n Check out more of our Drama<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Were you thrilled by the reaction to the first series?…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[146,85,46,411],"class_list":["post-435062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}