Rivals Star David Tennant Reacts To Author Jilly Cooper's 'Political Correctness' Comments

"I'm a great supporter of a lot of it..."
David Tennant in character as Tony Baddingham in the new Disney+ series Rivals
David Tennant in character as Tony Baddingham in the new Disney+ series Rivals
Robert Viglasky

David Tennant has admitted that he and Rivals author Jilly Cooper have somewhat different approaches when it comes to political correctness.

The Doctor Who star joins an all-star cast in Disney+’s new TV adaptation of Jilly’s famous 1988 novel, for which he’s currently on the promo trail.

On Tuesday morning, he and co-star Emily Atack appeared on Good Morning Britain, where anchor Richard Arnold brought up that the writer had previously described political correctness as a “bore” when the cover of one of her books was changed to alter an image of a man’s hand patting a woman’s bum.

He responded: “It has its place and I’m a great supporter of a lot of it.”

Turning his attention specifically to the world in which Rivals is set, he added: “You might not want to live there, but it’s quite fun to witness.”

Jilly Cooper at a polo event in 2012
Jilly Cooper at a polo event in 2012
via Associated Press

David appears alongside Alex Hassell, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson and Victoria Smurfit in the new drama, which is set in the English countryside in the mid-1980s.

So far, the show has won unanimous praise from critics, with the Mail pointing out the show stays true to “Jilly’s obsession with bonking, boozing, groping and relentless political incorrectness”, while The Telegraph’s review hailed it as an “un-PC romp” that “stays true to Jilly Cooper’s spirit”.

The reviews also highlight the show’s racy content and many sex scenes, which David spoke more about during a recent interview with Radio Times.

Rivals is set to debut on Disney+ on Friday 18 October.

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