Hayley Atwell had one big demand before joining Rivals
Rivals star Hayley Atwell has revealed she demanded a "big hat" and a "fantastic entrance" before joining the second series of the Disney Plus show.
Hayley Atwell refused to appear in Rivals unless she was guaranteed a "big hat" and a "fantastic entrance".
The Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning actress has joined the second season of the hit Disney Plus comedy-drama - based on the novel by Dame Jilly Cooper - playing Helen Gordon, Rupert Campbell-Black’s ex-wife and mother of his two children, Marcus and Tabitha and she's now revealed she had some conditions for producers before signing up.
Hayley told The Sun newspaper: "They said they’d love me to be involved, specifically as Helen Gordon, and briefly outlined her arc.
"I said, ‘I’ll do it if I can have a big hat, a fantastic entrance and a really strong exit!’ "
The Hollywood actress got her wish - her first scene shows her character Helen walking in on her ex-husband Rupert - played by Alex Hassell - while he's having sex with another woman against an antique mirror.
Hayley described the saucy scene as her "hat moment", explaining: "As the children are waiting in the car, she walks in on Rupert in the midst of an intimate moment.
"That was my entrance - my hat moment. She’s not in the least bit surprised. She makes a funny retort about the antique they are up against, looks at Rupert, and says: 'The mirror’s pretty old, too’. Then walks out.
"I didn’t want Helen to be judgmental of Rupert’s sex life. What she’s upset and angry about is how his carelessness makes him a really awful father, and that impacts her life."
Set against the backdrop of the stunning English countryside of the Cotswolds and the glamorous, high-stakes world of 1980s British television, the second instalment sees the return of the all-star cast that won the hearts of fans and critics alike as well as introducing brand new faces.
David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Emily Atack, and Danny Dyer are all returning for season two while further talent joining the ensemble includes Maxim Ays, Holly Cattle, Oliver Dench, Amanda Lawrence, Bobby Lockwood, Eliot Salt, and Jonny Weldon.
Also amongst the returning cast from Season One are Wendy Albiston as Mrs Makepiece, Denise Black as Joyce Madden, Hubert Burton as Gerald Middleton and David Calder as Reverend Penny.
Careers, marriages and reputations hang in the balance as personal and professional lives collide in a world where secrets can’t stay hidden for long and where the cost of success could be everything.
Rivals Season 2 will run for 12 episodes and will return to Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK and internationally in mid-May. All episodes of Rivals Season 1 are available to stream now, on Disney Plus.
