Jilly Cooper Told Rivals Writers to Stop Making Her Macho Men Cry, Laura Wade Says
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 25
Jilly Cooper Told Rivals Writers to Stop Making Her Macho Men Cry, Laura Wade Says
11 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 25
Laura Wade told the Hay Festival that Jilly Cooper’s sharpest note on Disney+ hit Rivals was simple: stop making Rupert Campbell-Black and other “macho men” cry so often.
Cooper, who served as an executive producer on the adaptation of her 1988 novel, was otherwise relaxed about changes to key characters, Wade said, despite her close involvement in the series.
Victoria Smurfit said the cast and crew were stunned when Cooper died last October at 88 after a fall at home, because she had still been engaged with episodes and plans for season three.
Cooper, author of the 11-novel Rutshire Chronicles, sold more than 11 million books in the UK and reached a new audience when Rivals became a hit TV series in 2024.
How will Jilly Cooper's death impact the unapologetic nature of her famous characters on screen?
Will the work on Jilly Cooper's final manuscript reveal one last shocking Rutshire tale?