*Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Rivals, which are available to stream now on Disney Plus.*

By the end of the first three episodes of Rivals season 2, Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) is more sinister than ever as he’s not only managed to take down Rupert’s (Alex Hassell) political and TV career, but he’s also now got his sights firmly set on Maud O’Hara (Victoria Smurfit).

Across the first batch of episodes, we’ve seen the outcome of Maud’s season 1 decision to go to London in order to pursue her dream acting career.

Bored of living in the shadows of her husband Declan (Aidan Turner), her starring role in A Doll’s House is anything but – that is until one fateful evening performance when she gets to be the star of the show, the very same evening that Tony and Monica (Claire Rushbrook) happen to be in the audience.

While Tony’s not fussed for seeing the wife of his rival take to the stage, Monica is keen to support one of her Rutshire wider circle and so, at the end of the show, suggests that Maud may be Tony’s perfect Titania in his upcoming Corinium TV adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Victoria Smurfit as Maud O'Hara in Rivals season 2. — Victoria Smurfit as Maud O’Hara in Rivals season 2.Disney Plus

Speaking of why they choose to move ahead with that decision, Tennant revealed to Radio Times: “I think Tony is surprised at how appealing he finds Maude. One doesn’t really want to talk to spoilers, but it will… Monica will be the architect of something rather destructive there, without meaning to be at all.

“If you’ve read the book, you might have some pre knowledge of what’s coming anyway. So that’s not a terrible spoiler, but yes, there’s a bit of a sliding doors moment there where Monica does something, I think, out of purity and a sense of actually doing the right thing and finding an unexpected talent right in front of them. But ultimately, she may wish she hadn’t.”

As Tennant mentions, fans of the original Jilly Cooper novel series will already have an inkling about where that storyline may go and while we won’t spoil anything here about the book details, you may want to prepare for hints of betrayal and conflict. As to whether the series will stick closely to the book material, we’ll have to wait and see on this one.

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While Tony’s motivations for recruiting Maud may not be as well-intentioned as his wife, Monica simply just wants to platform a good actress. Speaking about why Monica may have suggested Maud as Tony’s next lead, Rushbrook also told Radio Times: “From Monica’s point of view, she just thinks she’s a wonderful woman, an actress and a charming, yeah, charming woman and friends. So there’s nothing sort of Machiavellian from Monica’s point of view.”

It’s already very evident that Tony is out for blood this time around, with Tennant saying that it “definitely” felt as though he were inhibiting a darker kind of character for season 2.

“Definitely! It definitely felt like, post his injury, he gets back up to fighting fit relatively quickly, but it’s like he’s not all quite back. The guardrails are off,” he says.

“What filters he had seemed to have evaporated on the floor of his office in a pool of blood. So, there’s something slightly unhinged about him, slightly more unhinged about him.”

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Rivals is available to stream on Disney+. Season 2 premieres on Friday 15 May 2026. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month.

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