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 5...
The fifth episode opens with Taggie preparing what she is going to say when she gets to Rupert's house with the baking she has been doing... but he turns up behind her on his horse and is amused by her embarrassment. But while he would like nothing more than to accept her cake and spend time with her, he is bound by his promise to Declan that he won't seduce her and turns her down.
While Declan is at the top of his game after his successful interview with Rupert on his show, Tony is fuming about the fact his two enemies are now friends and looks for a way to remind Declan who is boss. Deciding to hit him where it hurts he takes the Margaret Thatcher interview from him, which Declan has been working towards for weeks and has admitted will be a career highlight for him. Instead, he gives the interview to James, despite the fact he got the name of one of his guests wrong on his show that same day, and Declan is furious.
Declan tells Tony that he is quitting, but Tony reminds him that he not only paid off his tax bill but also shows him some pictures he has of Maud having sex with Patrick's godfather. Declan says he and his wife have no secrets, and he knows about the affair, but Tony tells him if he quits then he will send the pictures to the newspapers for everyone to see. Then, to hit Declan while he is down, he tells him he is judging a beauty pageant at the end of the week.
Declan goes home and is angry, telling Maud he wanted to quit but couldn't. Instead, he has taken a week off and goes into his study to get drunk.
Lizzie is helping James to prepare for his interview with Margaret Thatcher, and she is dressed like her and talking like her. She decides to have a bit of fun with him and gets flirty, trying to seduce her husband, but he tells her to stop and that she isn't 26 anymore.
The following day Lizzie meets with her agent, Carol, for a fancy lunch and shows her the new manuscript for her book, which Carol loves. We also get a glimpse of our heroine herself, Dame Jilly Cooper, who makes a cameo as one of the diners at the restaurant. On the way home, Lizzie sees Freddie on the train and he gets her to come into first class with her, telling her he will pay the fare difference if the train guard comes. They have a drink together and chat, and Lizzie thanks Freddie for the word processor before offering him some cake, despite him being on a diet that Valerie has made him do.
The train guard comes just as they are approaching their stop, and to avoid paying the fare difference, Lizzie drags Freddie into the toilet to hide. It is cramped but they both find it funny and they share another moment and almost kiss. It is only when they have got off the train that Lizzie realizes she has left her precious manuscript on the train so Freddie runs after the train, which is pulling out of the station, and jumps back on to get it for her.
Everyone welcomes Margaret Thatcher to the Corinium studios and James does the interview with the Prime Minister on Declan's show, making out that Declan is unwell. He is watching at home getting drunk again, and Maud has given up on him and leaves for London.
Rupert arrives and helps Taggie get a drunk Declan, who is mowing the lawn in wonky lines, into bed. She invites him to stay for dinner, and although he clearly wants to, he turns down the offer because of his promise to Declan.
Freddie reads Lizzie's manuscript before giving it back to her and he is impressed, especially with the racy bits. He goes to her house to give the papers back and she is grateful. He nervously asks her out for lunch and she says that although she has been wanting him to ask her something like this for months, now it has happened she's realized that she can't because she is married. He is disappointed but respects her decision, and as he leaves she cries.
Rupert takes a hungover Declan to see a racehorse he is thinking of buying in a bid to distract him from his work dramas. He makes an offer on the house but is trumped by another buyer, who turns out to be Freddie. Freddie is apologetic and suggests they go into a syndicate together, and the three men head to the pub to celebrate. The men bond over their shared hatred of Tony and Declan loses track of time, not realizing he is going to be late for his judging slot on the beauty pageant show.
Meanwhile, things are heating up between Sarah and James, and he is surprised to get back to his office and find her posing as a beauty pageant contestant in her underwear. He can't resist her and soon they are having sex in his dressing room.
In the TV studio, everyone is getting ready for the beauty pageant and Daysee has even bought a new dress for the occasion from Littlewoods. When one of the judges, Reverand Fergus Penney, who is a member of the Church of England but also on the Corinium board, gets stuck getting to the studios, Daysee offers to go and pick him up. But she soon bitterly regrets her offer because on the way to the TV studios, he makes her pull the car over and rapes her, before ordering her back into the car and telling her they are going to be late now, as if it is all her fault.
Daysee is sickened by what has happened and as soon as Tony sees her, he knows something is wrong and takes her into his office with Joyce, his secretary. He works out that someone has hurt Daysee and says all the right things, telling her that they need to go to the police and make whoever did this to her pay. However, when she tells him it was Reverand Penney he quickly changes his tune, because he is an important member of the board. Instead of helping her report the rape, Tony tells her to 'take one for the team' and forget it ever happened before suggesting that she probably led him on. Joyce is horrified by what Tony has done and takes Daysee to the costume department to find her a new dress as her old one is torn. She is older and wiser than Daysee and caringly tells her that she needs to be angry and not sad and to use this to get what she wants from the company.
However, all hell breaks loose when Declan turns up at the studio, drunk from his lunch with Rupert and Freddie, and hears what happened to Daysee from Joyce. When Reverand Penney later is eying up one of the beauty pageant contestants on live TV, Declan sees red and punches him, and Cameron is forced to pull the live TV show from the air.
Declan confronts Tony about trying to cover up what Reverand Penney did to Daysee and then parading a 'menu' of young women in front of him. When Tony seems unapologetic Declan quits on the spot and smashes up Tony's office with a golf club. As he walks out of the Corinium offices, Rupert and Freddie are there to collect him and take him to get drunk.
Then, in a shocking turn of events, Tony, who is desperate to keep Reverand Penney on side, apologizes for Declan punching him and offers the man a car home. He then tells his employee to take the photos of Maud having sex with someone else to Beatie Johnson, but when they open the envelope, it is empty, sending Tony into a rage. It later turns out that Joyce secretly stole them and she returns them to Declan, telling him that Tony needs to be taught when to make the right choices.
After Tony and the Corinium team release a press statement pretending that Declan left the company because they don't tolerate violence, Declan tells Maud they have no choice now but to move back to London. But before they can go, Freddie and Rupert arrive with an idea to save Declan's career. They have decided they should set up their own TV production company and Declan can have complete creative control. But Declan suggests one better and tells his friends he thinks they should fight to win the TV franchise from Tony, making them successful and secure Tony's fall from grace.
All eight episodes of Rivals are available now on Hulu in the US and on Disney Plus in the UK.
