Rivals actress Lisa McGrillis branded Dame Jilly Cooper as ‘naughty and filthy' during an appearing on Channel 4 hit show Sunday Brunch

A new eight-part drama, based on one of Dame Jilly Cooper's so-called "bonkbusters" and partly filmed in the West, is being streamed. Rivals, released in 1988, has been adapted for a Disney+ series with an all-star cast including Aidan Turner and David Tennant.

Taggie and Caitlin looking out for each other when their parents are otherwise engaged, Lizzie's embarrassment over her photo on her book, Freddie sneaking extra potatoes and, lonely Rupert going home alone as the camera pans out, making him seem smaller and smaller and his huge house even bigger... it's all perfect.

Following on from Riders – the first in Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles series which explores the racy showjumping set (and distinctly remembered for its risqué cover of a woman in tight white jodhpurs being spanked) – Rivals swaps the saddle for satellites, delving deep into the supposedly sexy world of television production.

As someone who grew up in the countryside at a time when you knocked back some wine and flirted with the local hotties, Rowan Pelling reflects on the benefits of living in a less progressive era when

Rivals, which debuted on Friday, is based on Jilly Cooper's best-selling novel and follows the cut-throat world of 1980s independent television