What did you miss?
Aidan Turner has revealed he based his Rivals character on his own father.
The Poldark star plays a chat show host in the new TV adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s acclaimed, steamy novel Rivals. And Turner joked it had been easy to play rogue Declan O’Hara as he took inspiration for his voice his walk and even the way he moved from his dad. He even bought him a pint after filming on the Disney+ show ended to say thank you.
What, how, and why?
Turner and Rivals co-star Bella Maclean appeared on The One Show on Tuesday 15 October to tell hosts Alex Jones and Roman Kemp about the new TV show based on Jilly Cooper his eighties novel from her best-selling Rutshire Chronicles, featuring protagonist Rupert Campbell-Black. Turner plays political journalist Declan, who gets caught up in a rivalry with Campbell-Black and inadvertently lands his own chat show.
Turner confessed he took inspiration for the role almost entirely from his father. He revealed: “I told him the other day. We went to London to do some press. He didn’t know until I told him right before I was doing press. He had a handlebar moustache all through the eighties, and the nineties. It wasn’t just the ‘tache. Like the way he moved, the way he walked. But primarily his accent. You know, Declan’s from Wicklow, not from the Midlands, where my dad is [from]. But there’s something like, quite earthy about my dad’s accent is, his sort of just flat tones with the Midlands that kind of sound quite strong. So, yeah, I stole a lot from him, it wasn’t a big reach. But I bought him a pint when it was over. He was cool.”
Turner and Maclean revealed the entire cast had been to a Rivals wrap party at Cooper’s country home, and the eighties bash included cheese and pineapple on sticks.
Turner teased: “I can’t tell you everything… there was vol-au-vents, a big Rivals cake, lots of eighties things. There was lots and lots of champagne. Jilly did a speech. Her house is incredible. It’s exactly what you would expect, what you would hope it is. She points out where the imaginary houses are from the books.”
Read more: Rivals
What else happened on The One Show?
Vernon Kay was on the show to discuss hosting Children In Need for the first time. But the TV presenter was most excited about meeting TV heartthrob Turner. Kay embraced the actor and gushed: “Very nice to meet you. My Auntie Irene is going to be so chuffed I’ve met you.”
The One Show airs on BBC One at 7pm on weekdays.
Rivals premieres on Disney+ on Friday, 18 October.
