Katherine Parkinson: 'I honeymooned in Scotland because Queen Victoria did'
Country houses, bouffant hair and lots of sex… there’s nothing quite like the glamorous world of Jilly Cooper – and a hotly anticipated new adaption of one of her novels, Rivals, is hitting Disney+ on Friday 18 October.
Over the course of eight episodes, this steamy countryside drama follows the scandalous world of 1980s television production in a fictional area of the Cotswolds.
It's a fun-filled adaptation with colourful characters galore, superbly played by an all-star cast that includes David Tennant, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer and Poldark star Aidan Turner.
We caught up with one of Rivals' stars Katherine Parkinson, who plays Lizzie Vereker (pictured above), to find out more about life behind-the-scenes and her relationship to the countryside...
Jilly Cooper is famous for immersing us in a world of expensive horses, lolloping Labradors and muddy mayhem. Is the new series another riotous romp in the shires?
Well, it was certainly filmed on location in the countryside – a lot of the shooting took place in the Cotswolds near Bristol and Tetbury. We had horses, dogs, cats and even a camel on set. I really fell in love with the area. It feels less like work when you’re filming in beautiful places like those.
Rivals features a very talented and varied cast, from David Tennant to Danny Dyer. What was it like working with everyone?
I’ve never been in a show with such a big cast before. We all got on really well and there was quite a party atmosphere – perhaps because there are lots of parties in the show! Everyone was really fun and a lovely bunch of people. We’ve all stayed friends.
Many people devoured Jilly Cooper novels as teenagers… what was teenage Katherine up to?
I spent lots of time listening to Whitney Houston alone in my room, trying to block out my two brothers! I wasn’t as wild as I’d like to have been. I was briefly wild in my twenties, but I wish I’d got on with it sooner because I met my husband [actor Harry Peacock] at 25. I hadn’t read any Jilly Cooper novels before, but once I got the part I looked at the books and wished I’d read them sooner – she’s such a brilliant and funny writer. I will be encouraging my two daughters to read them when they’re the right age. I think they’re good for growing women because the sex, when it happens, is from a female point of view and more psychological than visual.
Your character, Lizzie, is a country girl. Does that resonate with your own upbringing?
I grew up in suburban south London, but my identity doesn’t feel sewn up with that area. My mum’s parents were from Devon and Cornwall, and my brother and his family now live in Cornwall, so those are the places I feel more rooted. We spent holidays in Devon, as well as the Northern Irish countryside as my dad is from Belfast, and I went on honeymoon to Scotland, near Ben Nevis and Loch Lomond, because I heard Queen Victoria had done so!
Do you spend much time in the in Devon now?
Yes, there’s nowhere better than the West Country. I feel like my shoulders drop when I go down there. There’s a really nice remote pub on Dartmoor called The Warren House Inn, so my perfect Devon day would involve a lime and soda and flapjack there after a windy walk.
So you’re not tempted to join the countryside set in real life?
It’s difficult because my children are happy and settled at school – otherwise I’d move in a heartbeat. We also have a wonderful cat called Humphrey, who is quite anxious. My husband and I often debate whether we should live in the country or the city, but because of all the wonderful green spaces in London, I can pretend I’m in the countryside.
When do you feel most relaxed in your day-to-day life?
I love being on trains going through the countryside without music or a book, just looking out the window and daydreaming. If I’m at home, I listen to Woman’s Hour after I’ve dropped the children at school, do some writing and then go on what I call an “old woman run” around the park. I listen to slow classical music – like Max Richter’s Dream, which you’re supposed to listen to when you sleep – to give you some idea of the pace that I manage.
Rivals is available exclusively on Disney+ from 18 October
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