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.
Here's everything that happened in Rivals episode 4...
The fourth episode takes us further into 1987 and Declan is annoyed to see Rupert at his house, chatting up Taggie. He is there under the pretense that he's come to collect the silverware the family borrowed for their New Year's Eve party, but really he is just sniffing around Taggie. Declan tells him he should come on his show, to which Rupert replies he is very busy and the only day he is free is Valentine's Day - adding that he hopes he won't be free that evening for much longer while giving Taggie a meaningful glance.
On his live show, Declan throws everyone into a panic when he tells the audience that they have got a Valentine's Day special coming up with Rupert as the guest. It is the first that Tony, Cameron, or any of the team know about it and they're all horrified that he's promised a guest he might not be able to deliver. However, within minutes Rupert calls the TV studios and agrees to come on the show.
Tony holds a shooting party and invites Freddie and Valerie Jones, telling his other friends they need to be on their best behavior because he's trying to get Freddie on the board. As Tony tries to butter up Freddie, who turns out to be surprisingly good at shooting pheasant despite the fact he has never done it before, the women all snigger at the outfit that Valerie has turned up in, looking more like Sherlock Holmes than someone going shooting in the countryside.
The women watch the men shoot, and when Freddie asks if any of them want to try, they all turn him down, as traditionally it is just the men who shoot while the women watch. However, Lizzie is feeling brave and as Freddie shows her how to hold the gun, they share another charged moment.
The shoot is going well until Tony catches his son, Archie, in a compromising position and smoking weed in the woods with an estate worker. He is fuming, dragging his son back to the party and giving him an earful. However, just when he thinks his afternoon can't get any worse, he gets back to the party to find Rupert and Baz have arrived uninvited.
Meanwhile, Declan is at the Corinium offices collecting his research files on Rupert, despite it being the weekend. He is surprised to see Charles there, who has recovered from the heart problems that he had at New Year. Charles warns him not to show Tony any weakness like he did, as he's now been demoted and has a much smaller office. Cameron has now been made the Head of Programs and Charles's new role is Head of Religious Broadcasting.
Back at the shoot, Taggie is catering the event and Rupert flirts with her. She warns him not to go on her dad's show as he will dig up dirt, but Rupert seems unfazed by the whole thing.
Freddie and Valerie leave when Freddie has an emergency at work, and once they have gone they all take the mickey out of Valerie, with Sarah putting on Valerie's Sherlock coat and hat that she's left behind and doing mean impressions of her. Mid-impression Freddie comes back in to retrieve his wife's coat and catches them all laughing. The following day, Freddie calls Tony at work and tells him he won't join his board because he knew they were laughing about Valerie and he won't have people being rude about his wife. Tony is fuming as he is desperate to get Freddie on the board and throws the phone off the desk after he hangs up. Later Valerie comes in and tells Freddie that she heard women in her boutique talking about how Cameron has been sleeping with Tony to work her way up the career ladder. She wants to tell Tony's wife, Monica, not realizing they were all laughing about her, but Freddie tells her to leave it. Ignoring her husband, Valerie goes to see Monica anyway and tells her what she heard about Tony... Monica pretends she doesn't care, but it seems Valerie has just confirmed what Monica had been suspecting all along.
The next day, Archie is having sex with another estate worker outside in the garden and when he gets into the house Tony asks his son where he has been. Monica tells Archie that while he might get away with sleeping with anyone at boarding school, it isn't the done thing to sleep with staff when you are at home. She is talking to her son, but also clearly directing what she is saying to her husband, letting Tony know that she knows about his affair with Cameron at work.
Valentine's Day arrives, and while Lizzie answers the door to the postman who has armfuls of cards and gifts for James from his adoring fans, Taggie finds a Valentine's card on the doorstep from Rupert and addressed to Gertrude, their family dog.
Baz arrives at the O'Hara house and asks Taggie if she will cater for a karaoke party he is hosting that evening. She agrees, and Maud manages to wangle herself an invite to the party as she doesn't have a Valentine's date becasue Declan is working.
Lizzie phones James's office and asks his secretary to tell him to come home for lunch. But she doesn't have food in mind and is throwing rose petals around the house and dressing in lingerie. However, when the door goes she thinks it is James and drops her robe, only to find Freddie on the doorstep, who has just got an eyeful! Things are awkward as she invites him in and offers him tea, but she is genuinely touched when he brings her a word processor, which he describes as a fancy typewriter, telling her she has a genuine writing talent. They share another moment and he hastily leaves, but before he goes out the door he tells her 'I didn't see much (referring to her lingerie) but for what it is worth, you looked lovely'.
James, oblivious to the fact his wife is being complimented by another man about her underwear, calls the house and tells Lizzie he won't be coming home as everyone is watching Declan's interview with Rupert live at the studios - failing to invite her along. Tony then arrives and tells James he has a new co-host, which James isn't pleased about until he realizes it is Sarah Stratton and he soon perks up.
As everyone gets ready for the live show with Declan and Rupert that night, Taggie goes to see Rupert's ex-wife, Helen and tells her that she needs to stop Rupert from going on the show, worried he is going to be humiliated. Helen doesn't want to hear it and tells Taggie that she needs to get away from Rupert while she still can because he is toxic.
Rupert arrives at the Corinium offices and is met by hordes of fans. The interview starts fairly sedately, but Declan clearly has some serious dirt on Rupert and is keeping a mystery photo in his jacket pocket to spring on him during the interview. Everyone is itching for him to lay into Rupert, but when Rupert comments he and Declan are cut from the same cloth, something changes in Declan and he decides not to use the dirt he dug up on his nemesis and instead goes easy on him. Tony is fuming and shouts into Declan's earpiece which he takes out and wraps up the interview on good terms with Rupert. Everyone says it is the best show yet, but Tony is fuming that Rupert didn't get the grilling on live TV that he deserved and smashes up the studio.
At the afterparty, Rupert asks Declan what dirt he had on him, but Declan pretends he was bluffing. He also asks him to keep away from Taggie, which Rupert clearly doesn't want to do, and it takes all his willpower to leave the party when Taggie later asks him to dance.
Late that night, Tony is at home and brooding about what happened on Declan's show when the phone rings. It is Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister, who has called to ask if she can go on Declan's show. Monica comments that is a massive scoop and that it is all down to Rupert, and once again, Tony is left seething that Rupert has come out smelling of roses as usual.
All eight episodes of Rivals are available now on Hulu in the US and on Disney Plus in the UK.
