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Privacy NoticeEastEnders’ Danny Dyer has teased a rather raunchy scene to come from Disney+ comedy-drama Rivals, which brings Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster books to the small screen after almost 40 years. In the series, Danny plays tech tycoon Freddie Jones who discovers a sexual spark with unhappily married romance novelist Lizzie (played by Katherine Parkinson). Speaking to OK! in an exclusive chat, Danny said: “It’s interesting how it pans out. But you’ll be shocked. It’s the threesome of all threesomes. Perfect for this series!”
Danny Dyer admits that he nearly missed out on the role of Freddie Jones
(Image: Robert Viglasky)
Rivals brings together a star-studded cast who descend upon the fiction county of Rutshire, where MP and womanizer Rupert Campbell-Black’s (Alex Hassell) rivalry with his neighbour and TV boss Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) spills out into their idyllic Cotswold village. Poldark’s Aidan Turner plays principled TV presenter Declan O’Hara, while Victoria Smurfit stars as his former actress wife Maud. Danny is returning to TV as Freddie – however, he nearly missed out on the role altogether. “It came to me at a time when I couldn’t do it, and I was gutted,” explained Danny, who had just finished playing Mick Carter in EastEnders at the time. “And then the stars aligned and they came back to me. I think they went to look for Freddie Jones and couldn’t find Freddie Jones. I would have been devastated if it hadn’t worked out. But I don’t think anyone else could have played him.” While Lord Baddingham and Rupert battle it out with ego and arrogance, it’s actually Freddie who is the wealthiest man in the room. But he just can’t stand a snob. “Especially snobs who forget where they came from,” agreed Danny. “David Tennant’s character, who’s trying to get my money for investment, does something a bit unsavoury and I’m one of the only characters that calls him out for it.” Sign up to OK!’s TV newsletter to get updates sent to your inbox for free
Rivals stars Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Alex Hassell and Bella Maclean
(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)
Danny admitted that he took the role after relating to Freddie’s class struggles. “I’ve come across a lot of classism throughout my career. I’m very proud of where I’m from; I’m from a council estate in a place called Custom House in deep East London. “I didn’t really stand a chance, really, from where I came from, to have the success that I’ve had, I’ve worked very hard at it. But I have come across quite a lot of classism towards me that just spurred me on a little bit more, especially when I went into theatre, and that theatre world which really is quite snobby and didn’t really suit me.” Rivals arrives on Disney+ on Friday 18th October.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnDanny DyerDavid TennantMick CarterDisneyEastEndersComedyDrama
