Rivals on Disney Plus is a racy eight-part adaptation of the bestselling Dame Jilly Cooper novel that delves into the world of 1980s independent television in the UK. Set in the fictional British county of Rutshire, the story centers around a long-term rivalry between ex-Olympic rider turned politician Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and TV station controller Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant), who, along with their friends, family and neighbors, drip with ambition, lust and power.
But, after 8 steamy episodes, the series comes to a gripping end with twists and turns galore. Here is everything that happened in the final episode of Rivals...
The eighth and final episode opens with Lizzie and James hosting their new show How To Stay Married. But as they are talking about how to be faithful and make your relationship work, Sarah, who James has been having an affair with, can be seen at home, staring at a positive pregnancy test.
Later we see Lizzie arrive at the hotel where she has agreed to meet Freddie, but when she sees him arrive and nervously walk in, she gets cold feet and drives off without him seeing her.
Ginger is taking his 'personal surveillance' task from Tony very seriously and he is seen snapping photos of Taggie and Rupert in the car. As he helps her with her seatbelt, which is stuck, Ginger takes pictures that make it look like they are kissing. He also spies on Cameron, who finds Patrick O'Hara on her doorstep. His infatuation with her continues as he tells her he has finished uni now and wants to pick up their relationship - but she tells him no and drives off.
As Rupert drops Taggie home after their day of canvassing, Seb arrives to take her out on a date to the cinema. Rupert is jealous and when he asks about Seb, Taggie replies that she is fed up with waiting for her life to happen, before getting in Seb's car and they drive off.
At the Corinuim offices, they are all having a meeting and Sarah is thrilled when she finds out she's landed Declan's old primetime slot. James immediately assumes he will be her co-host, but Tony tells him that he is part of the tea-time brand for the show and that Sarah will be getting a new co-host.
They then talk about a gardening show that they have planned to film at Freddie and Valerie Jones's house. Cameron suggests they need to find somewhere new to film, but Ginger thinks they should use the opportunity to get insider information on Venturer from Valerie and Tony agrees.
Tony has bigger issues to deal with, however, as he tells everyone that he has been spying on them and knows one of the staff has been fraternizing with the enemy. Charles, Cameron and Seb all look nervous and it turns out that Ginger saw Seb going on his cinema date with Taggie. Tony makes an example of Seb by sacking him on the spot, telling him he isn't even allowed to clear his desk as he is marched out of the building.
Tony visits Valerie under the pretense that he wants to ask about her garden, but really he is distracting her with his charm while Ginger goes into the house and steals the Venturer pitch proposal from Freddie's desk. Meanwhile, over at the O'Hara house, Maud tells Taggie she has been offered a part in a play in London, but she has reluctantly turned it down. She tells Taggie about all the things she has given up for their family, but that no one seems to even notice.
As the filming for the gardening show starts, Rupert bumps into Lizzie, who is there to support James, even though she is still upset about his affair. She tells Rupert about James's affair and he says everyone is doing it. She also reveals that she was going to meet Freddie at a hotel but bottled out, and he comforts her. Freddie arrives just as they are talking about him and Rupert makes his excuses and leaves. Freddie asks Lizzie why she was a no-show at the hotel and she says she is sorry but couldn't go through with it. He says she is right and it was probably for the best, but it's clear neither of them actually believe that.
Filming is disrupted when Rupert's dog runs into the shot because he has seen Cameron. She welcomes the dog and when Rupert comes over, they share a secret moment. Tony arrives and tells Cameron he is taking her out... she is surprised because he never takes her out. They go for dinner and he shows her the stolen Venturer papers. She hides her horror at the fact he has got them, but he puts them back in his bag and tells her tonight is about them. As they dance, he reminds her that he is serious about the proposal and if they win the bid he will leave his family.
The Venturer team are having a meeting at Declan's, going through their bid one last time. Cameron hasn't turned up and Freddie admits he can't find his copy of the proposal. Everyone sees the pictures of Rupert and Taggie that Ginger took which are now splashed all over the newspaper. Rupert makes a joke out of it, knowing he has done nothing wrong, but Declan doesn't see the funny side, believing they were kissing. He punches Rupert and tells him he promised to stay away from Taggie, and Taggie is upset that her dad got involved and points out she is 20 and can do what she likes. As the fight gets out of hand, Cameron arrives and says that Tony has the phones bugged and that he also has Freddie's copy of the Venturer pitch.
Later, Tony is watching an unedited version of the gardening program at home with Monica. They both laugh about Valerie falling over on camera, but Tony's smile soon vanishes when he sees Rupert and Cameron's moment over the dog playing out in the background. He rewinds it to watch again, before walking out and going upstairs with tears in his eyes. The next day he is cold and distant at work, and it is clear he is cooking something up.
The day of the pitch has arrived and this is Venturer's chance to prove they have got what it takes to go head-to-head with Corinium in the final bid. Charles and Cameron both have to pretend to be team Corinium and at first, Tony seems to be winning the votes... but when he announces that journalist Beatie Johnson is going to be Sarah's new primetime co-host, Sarah fails to hide her shock and everyone is surprised because Tony hadn't told anyone. However, both Rupert and Declan make great speeches for Venturer and it all goes well. They are told they will find out that evening from Lady Gosling whether their bid application has been accepted.
As everyone heads back to Declan's to celebrate, Maud tries to talk to her husband but he is too busy with his team. Meanwhile, Cameron and Rupert have a secret conversation and she tells him something is off with Tony but she doesn't know what. As they leave the studios Lizzie and James find Paul outside the ladies' toilet and he is worried because Sarah won't come out. He asks Lizzie to go in and see what is wrong, but Lizzie is reluctant knowing that Sarah has been sleeping with her husband. She goes in and Sarah is being sick, but blames it on something she ate. She tells Lizzie she is upset that Beatie is her new co-host and that she is fed up with men deciding their fate for them. Lizzie tells her they need to make their own decisions and not let men win... before dashing out of the toilets.
Tony is brooding in his office, annoyed that the pitch didn't go as well as he had hoped. Monica comes in and tells him that she is sick of being the faithful wife and that he needs to come home tonight so they can talk about his affair, but if he doesn't come home she will be taking the children and moving in with her sister in the morning.
As the party continues at Declan's, Valerie tells Freddie she is taking the children home and things are awkward between them. Lizzie arrives while Freddie is talking to Rupert... who once again makes himself scarce so they can talk. There is a change in Lizzie after her chat with Sarah in the toilets and she takes Freddie outside. Freddie tells Lizzie how beautiful she is and they finally share a kiss before having sex in the garden... both of them admit this is the first time they have ever been unfaithful, with Freddie confessing that he has never found a woman who has made him want to stray before.
Also in the gardens, Charles and Gerald are catching up. Charles is in a good place and asks if they can be friends. However, he is surprised when Gerald admits he has found someone to marry but says that he still loves Charles and wants them to continue their romance in secret, which leaves Charles thrilled.
Back in the house, Declan finds Maud packing a bag as she has decided to take the role in the play in London after all. Declan begs her not to go, but she says she needs to work and is fed up with putting her life on hold for everyone else. Taggie also asks her mum not to leave, but Maud has made her mind up. As she walks out the door, the phone rings and Declan knows it is Lady Gosling with the pitch update. He answers the phone while Maud walks out of her family home, hearing a cheer erupt back indoors as she leaves, confirming that the Venturer team has won the first part of their bid.
As Tony is sitting in his office, watching Venturer's win on the evening news, he catches Cameron leaving and asks her to come in to talk. She is shocked when he asks her how long she has been sleeping with Rupert and at first she pretends that she was spying on him for the company, but Tony doesn't believe her. He begs her to stop - knowing that he is losing his grip on her and tells her that he will leave Monica. But Cameron stands firm and tells him no, to which he turns nasty and tells Cameron he is sacking her. She tells him he can't because she is quitting, but he reminds her that her visa comes with her job and she will be deported. Cameron retaliates that she will marry Rupert so she can stay in the country, which enrages Tony and he hits her hard around the face. She fights back, but he is strong and she grabs the TV award from his desk and hits him over the head with it to get him off her.
Everyone is still in the party mood at Declan's house and Taggie tries to talk to Rupert in private. He encourages her romance with Seb, saying he is a nice boy, but she replies 'Only he isn't you'. Rupert realizes she feels the same about him as he does about her, but tells her he is caught up with Cameron because of the franchise and can't get out of it. He tells Taggie that he can't breathe without her and soon they are sharing a kiss... but what would Declan say if he knew?
Meanwhile, back at the Corinuim offices, Cameron is in shock as she stares at Tony's lifeless body on the floor as a pool of blood gathers around his head.
All eight episodes of Rivals are available now on Hulu in the US and on Disney Plus in the UK.
