Racy new eight-part drama Rivals has finally landed on Disney+ today, one of the most hotly anticipated shows of the year. Set in the Cotswolds and London, the show was filmed almost entirely in Bristol and the West of England, with support from our Film Office team.
Filming began in April 2023, following a pre-production period that had started the previous December at The Bottle Yard Studios’ brand new premium TBY2 facility. Rivals was the first series to film at TBY2, which opened its doors in November 2022. The six month filming period wrapped in September 2023.
Produced by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, Rivals is based on the celebrated novel by the best-selling West-country author Dame Jilly Cooper. against the backdrop of the drama, excess, and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England, it delves headfirst into the ruthless world of independent television in 1986. Its star-studded cast includes Alex Hassell, Bella Maclean, Katherine Parkinson, David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Nafessa Williams, Emily Atack, Catriona Chandler, Danny Dyer, Rufus Jones, Lisa McGrillis, Luke Pasqualino, Claire Rushbrook and Victoria Smurfit.
Bristol and The Bottle Yard Studios were the perfect production base for Jilly Cooper’s Rivals, which is set in the glorious countryside of the Cotswolds. We were very excited to be the first production to use the two main stages of TBY2 and they certainly lived up to our expectations. “We were able to build the TV studio, complete with a 1980’s control room on one of the stages and used the second stage for other Corinium TV interiors, the Priory kitchen and sitting room and many other small sets that were needed across the series. We also had our production and art department offices on site at The Bottle Yard and the staff were on hand to help with all our requirements. We were able to find all the locations within a 30-mile radius of The Bottle Yard. And one of the big attractions of filming in the Bristol area is that there are so many local crew of a very high calibre to choose from.
Producer, Eliza Mellor
On the streets, Bristol Film Office facilitated a host of city locations. At Corn Street near St Nicholas Markets, exterior scenes were filmed with guests arriving for a lavish TV awards full of 80’s glamour, posing for paparazzi on the red carpet. Elsewhere, Bristol’s streets doubled for ‘80’s London; red double deckers were a common sight and at Queen Square, cast members were filmed driving Sinclair C5’s, one-person electric tricycles from the era.
Rivals filming on Corn Street outside St Nicholas Market and Bristol Harbour Hotel. Bristol Film Office liaised closely with Location Manager Joel Holmes (pictured bottom left) to provide extensive support to the busy shoot (Images: Bristol Film Office)
Filming also took place on board the iconic supersonic jet at Aerospace Bristol in Filton, which is of course synonymous with the jet-setting period in which Rivals is set. A similar supersonic passenger jet features in the opening sequences of episode one.
It was amazing to see dozens of extras, dressed like travellers from the 1980s, boarding the supersonic jet as if they were about to take off on a real flight. We look forward to welcoming fans of the programme to the museum for a taste of that supersonic passenger jet experience!
Adam Jones, Head of Commercial Operations at Aerospace Bristol
Shoots like this rely on the skilled crew base that is local to the region. “Bristol has lots of very experienced and talented crew and it was a pleasure to work there,” says Gary Matsell, Head of Production at ITV Studios. “The core crew was approx 120, but there were lots of dailies, suppliers, 2nd unit crew etc, who would come and go. Probably 90% were local to the West of England region. We had trainees in every department, most of whom were also local. Overall, Bristol worked well for Rivals because of the variety of locations and facilities we required. Access to the studio as well as more urban locations, but easy access to the Cotswolds and other areas around Bristol, was key to creating the fictional Rutshire of Rivals.”
Rivals has been an incredibly significant scripted title for our regional industry. It’s a truly West Country production both on the page and behind the scenes. With such a stellar cast, it was the ideal first booking for The Bottle Yard’s premium TBY2 facility. Thanks to the work of Bristol Film Office supporting city locations, plus the exceptional private locations the wider region has to offer and our highly skilled local crew base, the show’s producers found everything they needed right here.
Laura Aviles, Bristol City Council’s Head of Film
Rivals is available from 18th October 2024 on Disney+ in the UK and Hulu in the US.