The six society gents who impressed Jilly Cooper’s Rivals ‘super-stud’
He’s known as Jilly Cooper’s most lusted-after character, thanks to his ‘super-stud’ naughty nature and debonair good looks.
However, it’s not just one real-life figure that the Rivals ex-Olympian show jumper turned Tory MP Rupert Campbell Black, played by British actor Alex Hassell in the new Disney+ show, is based upon.
Rather it’s six dashing high-society gentleman who have each contributed to the creation of Cooper’s main protagonist in many of her most famous novels, including Riders (1986), Polo: (1991), The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous: (1993) and Appassionata (1996).
In masterminding the lothario, Dame Jilly looked towards the charm and glamour of men who once dominated London‘s high-society party scene with their racy pursuits, including Queen Camilla‘s former husband, a playboy earl, a legendary London tailor, and an art dealer.
The 87-year-old author also turned to her nearest and dearest to inform the lead character, including her father, W.B Salitt and late husband, Leo Cooper.
Cooper has revealed that Mr Parker Bowles was one of several high society characters who helped her created Rupert Campbell Black (Pictured: Alex Hassell playing the role in the Disney+ adaptation)
The racy eight-part series is based on Jilly Cooper’s raunchy 1988 novel, and follows the cutthroat world of independent television in 1986. Right: Hello Rupert: Alex Hassell is set to introduce a whole new audience to Cooper’s main man
ANDREW PARKER BOWLES: QUEEN’S FIRST HUSBAND
Once seen as a dashing figure and something of a ladies man, Andrew Parker Bowles is said to have provided at least some of the inspiration for Rupert Campbell Black.
In Cooper’s books, Campbell-Black is described as ‘well-constructed. Usually, men with such long legs had short bodies but Rupert, from the broad flat shoulders to the lean muscular hips and powerful thighs, seemed perfectly in proportion.’
The same might be said of a young Parker Bowles although the former husband of Queen Camilla has always batted away the more exaggerated stories of his bedroom conquests.
He’s Jilly Cooper’s most notorious character, and the author is said to have drawn inspiration for Rupert Campbell Black from Andrew Parker Bowles (pictured with Queen Camilla in 1985)
The Queen’s ex husband Andrew Parker Bowles, a dashing figures as a young man, played polo on the same team as a young Prince Charles. Pictured (right) with the then prince on a royal visit to Kenya in 1971
Parker Bowles and Camilla dated on and off for several years before marrying at the Guards’ Chapel in 1973
Known as ‘The Brigadier’ in reference to his former career as an army officer who served with the Blues and Royals and was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in Zimbabwe, Parker Bowles, now 84, has moved in royal circles for decades – and remains good friends with his ex-wife Queen Camilla.
Parker Bowles first met Camilla in the late 1960s and they dated on and off for several years before marrying in 1973.
The couple divorced in 1995 after 22 years of marriage and have two children: food writer Tom, 49 and Laura Lopes, 46, an artist.
The now 84-year-old was a guest at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in April 2005, attending their service of blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
The Marchioness of Lansdowne, one of Camilla’s Queen’s Companions, has said of Cooper’s muse: ‘Everybody loves Andrew. He’s a real charmer but he’s always terribly misbehaving.’
RUPERT LYCETT GREEN: SOCIETY FASHIONISTA
Legendary London tailor Rupert Lycett Green (pictured) is also said to have played a part in creating the Rivals character
Tailor to the stars, Rupert Lycett Green became one of London’s biggest movers and shakers in the 1960s and 70s thanks to his London shop Blades.
Well connected by birth, he is the son of Commander David Cecil Lycett Green – and enjoyed a glass of champagne with Cooper at her home when the latest incarnation of her bed-hopping bounder was unveiled on Disney+.
The 85-year-old continues to be a key figure in high society – and still has plenty of energy, it seems.
Last year he completed the Cresta Run, 71 years after he first hurtled down St Moritz’s forbidding track.
Lycett Green married Candida Betjeman on 25th May 1963 in Wantage, Berkshire. She died in 2014 aged 71 after a 15-year battle with cancer
The tailor married Julia Dawson, 25 years his junior, when he was 81; pictured in the 1960s at the height of his success as a high society tailor
Pictured with Jilly Cooper in 2016; the author has said she took all of the best bits as inspiration for Rupert from her male muses
‘Riding the Cresta is sliding down an iced toboggan run at more than 70mph, lying on your tummy with your face a couple of inches from the ice,’ he said afterwards. ‘I’m still hooked.’
Five-and-a-half years after the death of his wife, Candida – daughter of Sir John Betjeman – Lycett Green married again at the age of 81, four years ago.
His bride was Julia Dawson, some 25 years his junior, who has two children by a previous marriage.
MICHAEL HOWARD, 21ST EARL OF SUFFOLK: Playboy Earl
Cooper also drew on the dashing Mickey Suffolk, the 21st Earl of Suffolk, a playboy in his youth who died in 2022 aged 87.
The author partly based her famous caddish character on the Earl – but again said she only used his good bits.
Speaking to Richard Eden, the 87-year-old said she would cherish the memories she had with the Earl, who was married three times.
Dame Jilly also looked to the Earl of Suffolk (pictured), who was known for his playboy antics during his youth, to create the ‘super-stud’ character
Jilly Cooper, pictured with the Earl in 2016; he died in 2022 but the author said he relished the role he played in forming the character of Rupert
‘He was a lovely man — huge fun,’ she said.
‘I first met him when I moved to Gloucester in 1982. Whenever he used to phone, he’d say, ‘It’s Rupert here’.
‘So I said, ‘You know there are two more?’
‘And he would say, ‘Yes, but I’m the real one’.’
The Earl owned Charlton Park estate in Wiltshire, where the Womad music festival is held.
Cooper added: ‘Despite his title and status, he never made you feel inferior. All the best of Rupert, but without the awful parts.’
Howard had first married Simone Litman in 1960, with whom he has a daughter, before he then wed Anita Fugelsang in 1973 and had two children with her.
A decade later, he married for the third time, to Linda Paravicini, with whom he also had two children.
DAVID SOMERSET: 11TH DUKE OF BEAUFORT: ‘Kindest man alive’
David Somerset, the 11th Duke of Beaufort, was once famously described as ‘ruthless yet charming… the kindest man alive’.
The son of Henry Robert Somers Fitzroy De Vere Somerset and Bettine Violet Malcolm, he was educated at Eton and was a keen huntsman.
The Duke was also chairman of Marlborough Fine Art and an English Peer.
He died in 2017 at the age of 89, bequeathing a personal fortune of £71 million after a lifetime at the helm of one of biggest estates in England.
Dashing Duke: David Somerset owned Badminton House and was educated at Eton, with the royal family close acquaintances throughout his life
The late Duke of Beaufort outside family home Badminton House in 1991
Pictured: Jilly Cooper with her late husband Leo, who is said to have inspired Rupert’s character
Once famously described as ‘ruthless yet charming… the kindest man alive’, David Somerset 11th Duke Of Beaufort (pictured) may have also inspired the character
As owner of the 52,000-acre Badminton Estate in Gloucestershire – home of the famous horse trials, and the place where the game of Badminton was invented in 1863, the Duke could count many of the royal family as close friends.
Speaking about the making of Rivals for TV, the author reveals she also draws on her father and late husband to inform her male leads.
‘I adored my very handsome father who got a First at Cambridge, and also played rugger for both Cambridge and the Army. Later he escaped from Dunkirk and became a Brigadier.
‘He was very macho, as was my lovely late husband of 52 years – I love macho men but only ones who have a great sense of humour and are kind, especially to animals.’
LEO COOPER, Jilly’s husband and W. B. SALLITT, Jilly’s father
Cooper has also maintained that her late husband Leo Cooper (pictured) inspired the fictional character
Speaking about the making of Rivals for TV, the author reveals she also draws on her father and late husband to inform her male leads.
‘I adored my very handsome father who got a First at Cambridge, and also played rugger for both Cambridge and the Army. Later he escaped from Dunkirk and became a Brigadier.
‘He was very macho, as was my lovely late husband of 52 years – I love macho men but only ones who have a great sense of humour and are kind, especially to animals.’
Disney+ confirms future of Rivals as its sexiest ever show hits screens today to rave reviews
Disney+ has confirmed the future of Dame Jilly Cooper’s unabashedly risque new series, Rivals.
The show, which boasts a stellar cast, officially landed on the streamer today (October 18) and has already earned rave reviews from critics.
Screenwriter Dominic Treadwell-Collins recently confirmed that he only adapted the first half of the Rivals book on purpose.
And now a TV insider has revealed: ‘The feeling is that there is still so much more in the story that could easily be made into a sequel.
‘Disney+ appear to be on board, even though they haven’t announced an official commission yet.
Disney+ has confirmed the future of Dame Jilly Cooper’s unabashedly risque new series, Rivals
The show, which boasts a stellar cast, officially landed on the box today (October 18) and has already earned rave reviews from critics (Pictured Emily Atack)
‘Bosses at the streamer can see there is a huge amount of anticipation for this show, and having seen the episodes, they know it won’t disappoint.
‘So going for a follow-up is a no-brainer, though these things take money and time, particularly as they have to try to align the very busy diaries of Rivals’ star-studded cast.’
According to Disney+, Rivals is a ‘joyously mischievous rollercoaster ride, steamy in its love stories and packed with larger-than-life characters.’
The streaming service continues that it brings a ‘2020s lens to the 1980s’, offering a ‘raw exploration of a complicated moment in British history when class, race, sex, wealth, and sexual liberation meant that, for the very privileged few, there were no limits to what they could achieve’.
The cast includes Poldark heartthrob Aidan Turner, ex-Doctor Who David Tennant, Sex Education actress Bella Maclean and Alex Hassell, from BBC fantasy series His Dark Materials.
Rivals has already bagged a whopping Rotten Tomatoes score of 93%
The racy eight-part series is based on Dame Jilly’s raunchy 1988 novel, and follows the cutthroat world of independent television in 1986.
The book, part of the Rutshire Chronicles, soared to the top of the charts and sold more than a million copies.
According to Disney+, Rivals is a ‘joyously mischievous rollercoaster ride, steamy in its love stories and packed with larger-than-life characters’
Following the announcement executive producer and Rivals author Jilly Cooper commented: ‘I’m utterly enchanted to be able to announce our all-star line-up for Rivals.
‘Featuring some of the best acting talent that the British Isles has to offer, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better ensemble cast.
‘I cannot wait to be on set and see them bring the characters I love so much to life.
‘The minute we met with Alex we knew he’d perfectly embody my all-time hero, the iconic, racy, ruthless, and devastatingly handsome, Rupert Campbell-Black. Viewers are in for a treat!’.
The highly-anticipated new Disney+ series, which has been hailed as a ‘bonkbuster,’ already has an average of 93% on the Tomatometer
Jilly Cooper’s Rivals has been adapted for the 21st century (Jilly is pictured with Alex Hassell, Danny Dyer, David Tennant and Aidan Turner)
In Dame Jilly’s Rutshire Chronicles universe, marriages are largely of convenience, with wives accepting ‘boys will be boys’.
Men are applauded for their caddish tendencies – while weight is referenced in a way that would not be acceptable to a modern audience.
One wife proudly announces that she weighs seven stone and that anyone larger than a size six is fat. Another is referred to as ‘poor fat Sharon’.
It also features powerful man approaching 40 hitching up with a young woman yet to turn 19.Rivals is now available to watch on Disney+ in the UK and on Hulu in the United States.
