*Warning – contains major spoilers for Rivals season 2 episode 6.*
The mid-season finale of Rivals season 2 delivered a tragic cliffhanger, with Claire Rushbrook’s Monica dying when a tree hit her car as she was driving in a storm.
This came after she had found out about her husband Tony’s (David Tennant) affair with Maud (Victoria Smurfit), and was taking Maud’s daughter Caitlin (Catriona Chandler) home.
She had told Tony she was leaving him, and planned to tell Maud’s husband Declan (Aidan Turner) the truth. However, she never made it to the house.
Caitlin was able to get out of the car and inform her family of the tragic events, with Rupert (Alex Hassell) being the one to tell Tony the heartbreaking news.
Now, while speaking at a Q&A at the SXSW festival, following a screening of the episode, Tennant has revealed that he and Rushbrook knew about Monica’s fate ahead of the rest of the cast, and they got to watch their reactions to the plot twist at a read-through for the episode.
“Claire and I knew what was coming,” Tennant said (per The Sun). “We were told what the plan was and we’d had the script and when we read through those episodes for the first time with the rest of the cast they didn’t know it. This has been a spoiler we’ve all been keeping very tightly for a long time now.
“Lots of people didn’t know what was coming and that slow sort of dawning dread as you realise, ‘Oh I see where this has to go, I see where we’re being taken to’ was experienced by the cast too.
“It was sort of devastating as people around the room started to realise where the story was going, what that meant in terms of losing Monica and what that meant in terms of losing Claire from our gang too.”
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Meanwhile, Rushbrook added: “I felt very sad actually. I love Monica and I love this gang. The scripts are extraordinary, Laura Wade is an extraordinary writer and there was no doubt that the scenes I’d been given were a real honour and a privilege on top of being a part of this extraordinary programme. So it’s mixed feelings.”
Rivals season 2 will return for its remaining batch of six episodes in November, with a teaser trailer having already been released to give a sense of what fans can expect.
Rivals is available to stream on Disney+. Season 2 premiered on Friday 15 May 2026 and will continue in November. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
