RIVALS CAST USED FAKE CIGARETTES DURING WELSH FILMING

The cast of Disney+ series Rivals used imitation cigarettes while filming in Wales due to workplace smoking restrictions, according to Oliver Chris, who portrays television presenter James Vereker in the show. Chris recalled that cast members were given plastic cigarettes to use during scenes filmed at Foxfield, a mansion in Wales that served as the residence of Danny Dyer's character Freddie in the second series. Welsh law prohibits smoking in workplaces, a category that includes television production sets. Chris said he could not confirm whether the fake cigarettes were digitally altered in post-production to appear as real cigarettes in the final broadcast.

The series, based on the second novel of Dame Jilly Cooper's Rutshire Chronicles, features an ensemble cast including David Tennant and Emily Atack alongside Chris and Dyer. Filming took place across two locations in Wales: Llanhennock House, a seven-bedroom country house in Monmouthshire, was used during the first season, whilst Foxfield, valued at £8 million and equipped with a pond and tennis court, provided the setting for the second series. Chris plays Vereker, a self-centred character who regularly cheats on his wife, played by Katherine Parkinson.

Chris told BBC Radio Wales that working on Rivals provided "total and unbridled" joy, particularly in portraying a character described as "unremittingly horrible all the time". He stated that playing such a role allowed him to exercise negative character traits in a controlled environment before returning home. In May, show writer and executive producer Laura Wade reported that Dame Jilly Cooper had instructed the production team to prevent her "macho men" characters from crying on screen.