Rivals Returns to Disney+ Featuring Victoria Smurfit as Maud O'Hara
The Disney+ hit series Rivals has returned to screens, revisiting the fictional Cotswolds countryside town of Rutshire and its vibrant inhabitants.
Among the characters is Maud O'Hara, portrayed by Irish actress Victoria Smurfit, who has described the second series as "more filthy and frolicsome" than before.
The show, adapted from one of Dame Jilly Cooper's renowned "bonkbusters," boasts an all-star cast including David Tennant, Danny Dyer, and Aidan Turner, who plays Smurfit's on-screen husband, Declan O'Hara.
If I could tell 14-year-old me that one day I'd be playing Maud and I'd be married to Declan, I think I would not have been able to compute that idea.
Originally published in 1988, Rivals is the second installment in Cooper's highly successful Rutshire Chronicles, a series of novels chronicling the lives of England's upper and upper-middle classes in a fictional Cotswolds region.
Set against the backdrop of 1980s extravagance and expansive country estates, the narrative centers on the rivalry between aristocrat Rupert Campbell-Black and TV executive Lord Tony Baddingham.
Smurfit described the second series as "bigger, it's juicier, it's bolder, it's more outrageous."
Series 2: Outrageous Events and Complex Characters
Almost in every episode you'll get an outrageous ball or polo or something where everyone's together, but every character now gets an amazing arch to include the good, the bad and the ugly, which is unheard of really, so it's delicious.
Maud O'Hara is a former actress whose husband has transitioned from journalism to hosting a chat show, hired by Baddingham. The family, including their three children Taggie, Patrick, and Caitlin, relocate from London to the Cotswolds, much to Maud's surprise.
Maud is characterized as flirtatious and described as being "made of two parts whiskey and one part devilment." Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme, Smurfit said:
I think like every decent woman, you should be some part devilment and some part whiskey and it just depends on what level we're going to be at.
When asked if she identifies with Maud, Smurfit responded:
I hope I'm a better mother than her, my kids say I am, and I definitely have to be a better wife than Maud, I mean she's desperate. But I think her kind of bohemian spirit – I really enjoy getting into that and also Maud's vulnerability to excuse her appalling behaviour.
Personal Connection to the Series and Character
Smurfit shared that she and her mother were "obsessed" with the books during her upbringing.
Obviously she read it going: 'Isn't Maud amazing', and I would read it going: 'No, isn't Taggie amazing?'. And now here I am, Maud's age and having the extraordinary privilege to play her. And, guess what mum, I married Declan.
She described this experience as the longest method acting research, spanning 40 years of having Dame Jilly Cooper's work in her life, which she considers a privilege, including knowing Cooper personally.
Following her mother's passing, Smurfit donated her mother's 1980s fashion wardrobe to the show's costume designer, Ray Holman.
Her clothes lives on in the Rivals store cupboard. I know she'd have loved that – the idea that: 'Oh, Katherine Parkinson's wearing my belt'.
Remembering Dame Jilly Cooper
Dame Jilly Cooper passed away last year at the age of 88. Smurfit noted that Cooper had approved all the scripts and recalled the moment the cast and crew learned of her death during filming.
It's a testament to Dame Jilly's champagne sparkly soul that at no point did I think it could have been her and unfortunately it was.
She described Cooper as a "magical being" who "sprinkled fairy dust and literally champagne wherever she went."
Unfortunately for us and her family and frankly the entire world that this glorious spirit has gone on. My mum will look after her up top.
Rivals is currently streaming on Disney+.
