Emily Atack led the glamorous arrivals to the premiere for Rivals series two held at the BFI IMAX South Bank in London on Wednesday night.
The actress, 36, – who plays the promiscuous Sarah Stratton – wowed in a plunging silver gown as she posed on the red carpet alongside her fellow leading ladies Victoria Smurfit, Nafessa Williams and Bella Maclean.
Emily showed off her gorgeous curves in the structured number which she teamed with a matching bag, while hugging her on-screen husband Rufus Jones who plays Paul Stratton.
Based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s 1988 novel, the comedy-drama debuted on Disney+ in October 2024 and immediately became a huge hit.
The eight-episode first series ended in December 2024 and was soon renewed for a second outing.
And the all-star cast of David Tennant, Emily and Danny Dyer, to name just a few, is back for more raucous exploits in Rutshire, with the main cast members all attending the premiere.
Emily Atack led the glamorous arrivals to the premiere for Rivals series two held at the BFI IMAX South Bank in London on Wednesday night
The actress, 36, – who plays racy Sarah Stratton – wowed in a plunging silver gown as she posed on the red carpet and put on a confident display
Bella Maclean (Agatha) wore a daring pink sheer dress as she posed with her on-screen love interest Alex Hassell – who plays lothario Rupert Campbell-Black.
Danny (Freddie Jones) posed with Katherine Parkinson (Lizzie Vereker) – who he enjoys a dalliance with on the series.
Victoria Smurfit who plays Maud O’Hara looked dazzling in a silk blue dress, while other celebrity arrivals included pregnant Laura Whitmore and Penny Lancaster.
Nafessa Williams, 36, brought all the glamour in a pink silk corset number as she posed with David at the event.
Rivals series two more than lives up to its opening run, according to critics – with a string of five-star reviews heralding its return to screens on Friday.
Critics previewing the first four episodes have almost unanimously praised the second outing.
Sarah Dempster for The Guardian gives the show five stars but muses ‘how best to reward such exquisitely knowing escapism? Ten stars? Ten thousand stars? Rivals is beyond earthly praise’.
The Telegraph’s Benji Wilson agrees with another five-star write-up, as he declares that ‘Rivals continues to refresh the parts that other television cannot reach – a heady mix of guilty pleasure, trenchant satire, rambunctious comedy and out-and-out trash’.
Carol Midgley for The Times says ‘despite its deliberate corniness, this is also gloriously uplifting television. It is unashamedly celebratory and perhaps even better than the last series’.
Den Of Geek’s Lacy Baugher praises the show’s ‘sprawling cast’ who ‘remain thoroughly excellent throughout’.
Baugher singles out Emily Atack ‘who steals much of this run of episodes, and makes her Sarah feel indispensable to the larger world of Rutshire in ways few of us likely expected’.
She showed off her gorgeous curves in the structured number which she teamed with a matching bag
She hugged her on-screen husband Rufus Jones who plays Paul Stratton as they posed for snaps
She looked stunning in the grey gown
She put on an animated display posing with Rufus
Other leading lady Bella Maclean – who plays Agatha – wore a daring sheer pink and black dress
Victoria Smurfit who plays Maud O’Hara looked dazzling in a silk blue dress
She added silver heels to her look and a matching bag
Nafessa Williams, 36, brought all the glamour in a pink silk corset number as she posed with David at the event
She looked stunning and boosted her height with gold heels
She looked every inch the Hollywood star in the pink dress
Danny Dyer and his on-screen love interest Katherine Parkinson posed together
Catriona Chandler who stars as Caitlin O’Hara, was dressed in a chic look from Halfpenny London
Rebecca Nicholson for the Financial Times is one of the few to not award five stars, giving the second series three instead.
‘Some of the storylines, particularly those about the TV industry, drag a little,’ she writes. ‘Rivals needs more slapstick, more of those capers, to keep things as light as they need to be for it to really work… Rivals is at its strongest when it embraces its silly side, and accepts its lot as a jolly old romp.’
Nick Hilton for The Independent knocks one star off but says there is plenty to rave about, particularly in the acting. ‘There is a sense, across the cast, that everyone is enjoying themselves immensely, whether they’re romping on a pony or romping on a staircase,’ he writes.
‘That’s what makes Rivals such a rare treat in today’s television landscape. It is well-written and well-acted, but it aspires to nothing more than being fun. Real, associable human emotions are kept at arm’s length in favour of stylised bucolic horniness.’
With the new series tipped to be the raciest yet, Rivals star Alex Hassell recently recalled the ‘physically unsexy’ and ‘deeply uncomfortable’ sex scenes in a new interview.
Alex Hassell, who plays Rupert Campbell-Black, told The Times: ‘You’re covered up where you need to be and there’s padding between you.
Aidan Turner, who plays Declan O’Hara, wore a smart grey suit
David Tennant who plays Tony Baddingham wore a quirky purple velvet suit
Alex Hassell posed with his on-screen love interest Bella
Stanley Tucci and his wife Felicity Blunt looked loved-up together
Fleur East wore a smart white suit
While Penny Lancaster wowed in a polka dot number and fur coat
Pregnant Laura Whitmore meanwhile looked great in a black blazer and lace trousers
Alex and Bella’s love story will no doubt continue in series two
Annabel Scholey wore a bright pink number
Ned Wolfgang Kelly and his partner Hayley Atwell held hands as they made a loved-up appearance
Nafessa Williams, David Tennant, Katherine Parkinson and Danny Dyer
Katherine was looking stunning in black and white
Fashion designer Kyle De’Volle wore a long black dress
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Rivals series two is hailed an ‘exquisite bonkbuster’ as critics praise ‘a glorious romping return’ of TV’s ‘most unapologetic guilty pleasure’
‘But it’s a deeply unsexy environment and quite physically uncomfortable because I’m all oiled up and trying to hold Nafessa in place.’
It comes after other cast members recently addressed what’s in store for viewers.
Danny Dyer, playing electronics businessman Freddie Jones, who is having an affair with romance author Lizzie Vereker (Katherine Parkinson), explained: ‘We’re delving into the complications of two people who are madly in love but married with children to other people.
‘There are a lot of people rooting for infidelity, which is quite rare.’
Aidan Turner stars as TV journalist Declan O’Hara, who has faced a struggle balancing work demands with former actress wife Maud (Victoria Smurfit).
He described a steamy shower sex scene between the couple as ‘fun’ to film, telling the Daily Mirror: ‘Victoria and I are very comfortable with each other.
‘We’ve worked together quite intimately since the first series and we just clicked straight away – it might be the Irish thing.’
Rivals returns on May 15 on Disney+.
