DANGEROUS liaison

DANNY DYER and KATHERINE PARKINSON on their roles in TV’s newest steamy saga

- REBECCA MAHONEY

RIVALS

FROM FRIDAY 18 OCTOBER, DISNEY+ DRAMA

Soapy, scandal-fuelled drama Rivals is packed to the rafters with lustful power players in the ruthless world of 1980s television. However, among the many entanglements is a genuine, sweet-natured pair who can’t deny their sizzling connection.

Self-made electronics magnate Freddie Jones (played by exEastEnders star Danny Dyer) and romantic novelist Lizzie Vereker (Here We Go’s Katherine Parkinson) instantly click, while their spouses, snobbish Valerie (Mum’s Lisa McGrillis) and TV presenter James (Miss Scarlet and the Duke’s Oliver Chris), are more concerned with climbing Rutshire’s social ladder. Could true love blossom?

Here, in an exclusive interview, Danny, 47, and Katherine, 46, chat to TV Times about playing the star-crossed duo in the eightparter, which is based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s 1988 novel…

How do Freddie and Lizzie fit into Rivals’ world of eccentric characters?