David Tennant 'Smashed Up' This Body Part Filming A Rivals Sex Scene

Sounds like the director called 'action' and David said 'hold my beer...'
Disney+

If your weekend was anything like mine, it mostly involved binge-watching Disney+ series Rivals.

The show, which is adapted from a Dame Jilly Cooper novel of the same name, involves ’80s hairdos and, well, lots of sex.

David Tennant’s character, Lord Tony Baddingham, is no less insatiable than the rest.

But watching the show, I’m almost surprised no stunt doubles were used ― after all, the more amorous moments of the series are quite impressively gymnastic.

Disney+

So perhaps it shouldn’t shock us that David Tennant, whose character is cheating on wife Lady Monica Baddingham with gifted producer Cameron Cook, sustained a bed-related injury on set.

Speaking to Cosmopolitan, the former Doctor Who star said he’d actually injured himself twice while filming the show in 2023.

“My knee I smashed up diving onto a bed, to indulge in some sexual ecstasy,” he revealed in the interview.

“Not good timing. Smashed my knee,” he added.

“And then I cut my arm open in a scene that was very violent. Spoilers ― I don’t want to say too much more than that. But I did it to myself.”

Dame Jilly Cooper, who penned the original Rutshire Chronicle novel Rivals was a part of, was an executive producer on the show.

Speaking to the BBC, Dame Jilly said “there is a lot of sex” in the show.

“In one episode they have every member of the cast coupled and fornicating for the next 20 minutes and all of that,” she added.

In fact there was so much, er, action in the show that the erotica and romance author wanted production to cool off a bit.

“I did occasionally say, ‘No, I don’t think they should be jumping on each other quite so early in the story’ and things like that,” Dame Jilly said.

Perhaps she was just trying to save poor David Tennant from needing a Doctor of his very own...

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