Verified source report
Rivals’ Rutshire – a place where modern Britain’s brutal divisions disappear in a cloud of sex | Jess Cartner-Morley
As the second series of the Jilly Cooper adaptation climaxes, we can be thankful that quality TV doesn’t always have to be bleak and stressful For Jilly Cooper devotees – a motley band that unites me with Queen Camilla and Joanna Lumley, Ian Rankin and ex-footballer Tony Adams – it has been the best of times, and the worst of times. (No apologies for the clunky Tale of Two Cities misquote. Jilly was fond of gleefully shoehorning in the odd bit of Dickens, or Shakespeare, or Wordsworth.) The best of times, because the television adaptation of Rivals has shown the world what some of us knew all along, which is that Cooper’s stories are life-affirming and wise and hysterically funny; but the worst of times, when Cooper’s unexpected death last year cut short the late-life renaissance in which she was quite rightly revelling. The first half of a blissful second season of Rivals comes to a cli
What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, Rivals’ Rutshire – a place where modern Britain’s brutal divisions disappear in a cloud of sex | Jess Cartner-Morley, As the second series of the Jilly Cooper adaptation climaxes, we can be thankful that quality TV doesn’t always have to be bleak and stressful For Jilly Cooper devotees – a motley band that unites me with Queen Camilla and Joanna Lumley, Ian Rankin and ex-footballer Tony Adams – it has been the best of times, and the worst of times. (No apologies for the clunky Tale of Two Cities misquote. Jilly was fond of gleefully shoehorning in the odd bit of Dickens, or Shakespeare, or Wordsworth.) The best of times, because the television adaptation of Rivals has shown the world what some of us knew all along, which is that Cooper’s stories are life-affirming and wise and hysterically funny; but the worst of times, when Cooper’s unexpected death last year cut short the late-life renaissance in which she was quite rightly revelling. The first half of a blissful second season of Rivals comes to a cli
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Technology file for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-06-05T09:00:30+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: Rivals’ Rutshire – a place where modern Britain’s brutal divisions disappear in a cloud of sex | Jess Cartner-Morley via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- Rivals’ Rutshire – a place where modern Britain’s brutal divisions disappear in a cloud of sex | Jess Cartner-MorleyThe Guardian - 2026-06-05T09:00:30+00:00
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