If Rivals wasn’t your standout show of 2024, so be it. It takes all sorts. But if it was, you’ll be in no doubt which was the truest, purest love story. Lizzie Vereker – the self-effacing erotica author, bullied by her husband – is supposed to be plain in the original text, but is played by the luminous Katherine Parkinson. Freddie – the rich but never greedy entrepreneur, bullied by his wife – is meant to be past his best, but is played with low-key, knowing magnetism by Danny Dyer. They are absolute dynamite together as they fall in love: sweet and romantic but also really hot, the living definition of screen chemistry.
“It doesn’t have to be romantic chemistry,” says Parkinson, speaking to me from her home in London. “It’s just when you’re with an actor who’s similarly open, really up for the thrill of the ride. It’s thrilling when you’re in flow together. I’ve had anti-chemistry, too, and it’s been awful.” It’s especially peculiar when you’ve read Jilly Cooper’s book a load of times, and you know the A-couple is meant to be Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and Taggie O’Hara (Bella Maclean).
