The cast of Rivals and where you recognise them from
There's SO many famous faces in the series!
Last updated 1 hour ago
It's just returned with a second batch of episodes from season two, and now Rivals has tongues wagging because of its cast list.
After fans tuned in to new episodes this week (11th November), they spotted the very famous Felicity Kendal (The Good Life) joining the cast for the first time — and now viewers have realised Tony and Camilla Baddingham (David and Olive Tennant) are father and daughter in real life too!
With an endlessly growing list of famous faces in the series, let's take a look at the cast of Rivals and where you recognise them from...
Check out the cast of Rivals season 1 and 2:
David Tennant as Tony Baddingham
Acting royalty David Tennant has more TV and movie titles to his name that we could possibly list, but a few of his best include Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Time, Nativity 2, The Four Seasons, Des and Deadwater Fell.
Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black
You may have spotted him in this year's Waitrose Christmas ad, but Alex Hassell has been on screens a lot longer than you might realise, appearing in the first season of Miranda, as well as His Dark Materials and The Boys.
Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones
Danny Dyer... Where do we start. Before becoming a household name playing King of the Queen Vic, Mick Carter in EastEnders, Danny also starred in The Football Factory and Human Traffic — among many other things. Nowadays he's never off our telly, recently starring in his own show alongside daughter, Dani, called The Dyers' Caravan Park.
Aidan Turner as Declan O'Hara
Aidan Turner has appeared in many shows and films, including Poldark, Being Human and The Hobbit movies, as Kili. He also currently stars as Callum Ellis in The Diplomat.
Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker
You'll most likely remember Katherine Parkinson from her run in noughties comedy The IT Crowd, but she's been in plenty! Other credits include The Nan Movie, Sherlock, Doc Martin, Casualty and Extras.
Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook
Nafessa starred in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody as close friend, Robyn Crawford. She's also known for her roles in Black and Blue, Black Lightning and Christmas movie, A Holiday Chance.
Oliver Chris as James Vereker
You might recognise Oliver from huge BBC sitcom Motherland, or perhaps much further back from Channel 4's Green Wing! He also had roles in The Office and The Crown, as well as movies Dolittle, Emma and The Other Boleyn Girl.
Victoria Smurfit as Maud O'Hara
Victoria famously played Cruella de Vil in Once Upon a Time, and also had notable roles in Ballykissangel (as Orla O'Connell) and Trial & Retribution as Detective Chief Inspector Róisín Connor.
Lisa McGrillis as Valerie Jones
Lisa McGrillis has a lot of TV titles to her name — most notably Deadwater Fell, Sex Education, Maternal and ongoing comedy, starring Romesh Ranganathan, Avoidance.
Bella Maclean as Agatha "Taggie" O'Hara
You'll likely recognise Bella as Jen from Sex Education. She's also been in Silent Witness and a number of notable theatre shows.
Luke Pasqualino as Basil "Bas" Baddingham
Luke famously played Freddie McClair in Skins. He's also been in Our Girl, The Musketeers and Snowpiercer, to name a few.
Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton
Emily shot to fame after her role in teen comedy The Inbetweeners, but she's been on telly plenty since. You'll most like remember her stint in the I'm A Celebrity jungle back in 2018, when she came runner up.
Annabel Scholey as Beattie Johnson
Annabel played the fierce and fiery Nina Defoe in BBC's The Split. She also appeared in Doctor Who, Being Human and The Salisbury Poisonings, to name a few.
Claire Rushbrook as Monica Baddingham
Claire was in My Mad Fat Diary, Doctor Who, Whitechapel, Black Mirror and many, many more. She is currently starring in ongoing episodes of Sherwood.
Gary Lamont as Charles Fairburn
Gary gained widespread recognition as Robbie Fraser in River City, which ran from 2009-2017. He also played Dean in 2023's Boiling Point and Evan in Outlander. Other notable credits include The North Water, I Hate Suzie and Karen Pirie.
Louis Landau as Archie Baddingham
He plays Tony Baddingham's son in Rivals, but in real life, Louis has already appeared in a number of projects, including Butterfly, The Serpent Queen, Concordia and Wolf King.
Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton
Rufus has been in some popular shows and movies, including Wonka, The Foreigner, Silent Night and Apple TV's Hijack, starring Idris Elba.
Catriona Chandler as Caitlin O'Hara
Catriona Chandler already has a number of acting credits against her name, including Enola Holmes 2 (as Agatha Gowerdale), The Wives, Wild Cherry and Pistol.
David Calder as Reverend Fergus Penney
Despite playing a small part in Rivals, David Calder is considered acting royalty. He's been in James Bond film The World Is Not Enough, as well as The Hatton Garden Job, The Mummy Returns, The Legend of Tarzan and BBC drama Call The Midwife — plus so many more.
Olive Tennant as Camilla Baddingham
If you hadn't already worked it out from her name, Tony Baddingham's daughter Camilla is in fact played by David Tennant's real daughter Olive! It's not Olive's first acting role. She's been in Avoidance, and in movies Belfast and You, Me and Him.
Rachael Stirling as Araminta Pembertonnot
In season two, we meet Monica's sister Araminta, played by Rachael Stirling. Rachael is known for many acting roles, including Doctor Who, The Young Victoria, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Bletchley Circle, The Game and Detectorists.
Selina Griffiths as Dame Enid Spink
You'll likely recognise Selina for her role as Pauline Maltby in Benidorm. She also starred in comedies Cuckoo, The Smoking Room, Not Going Out and animated film Early Man, to name a few.
Antony Byrne as Ginger Baines
Antony Byrne is another with SO many credits to his name. Most notably: Coronation Street, Silent Witness, Emmerdale, Midsomer Murders, Anna Karenina, Law & Order UK, Vera, Casualty and The Bill. Phew.
Denise Black as Joyce Madden
Tony's right-hand woman, Joyce Madden is played by Denise Black, who you'll like know from Corrie, Emmerdale and Queer as Folk! She was also in Benidorm, Doc Martin, The Full Monty and much more.
NOW READ: Rivals: A recap of the nostalgic series
Author: Amy Shephard
Amy Shephard is an SEO Writer for Rayo brands, including Hits Radio, KISS, Magic Radio and Greatest Hits Radio. Starting her media career in 2011, she joined Bauer Media in 2023 as a reporter before moving over to entertainment news. She specialises in movies and TV dramas, and enjoys a range of music across all decades and genres.