They've finally cast Rupert Campbell Black!

[Kefir]

https://www.an-eventful-life.com.au/eventing-news/books-dvds/cast-jilly-cooper%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98rivals%E2%80%99-revealed

And it's...Alex Hassell. He is finally made flesh! Thoughts, O Cooper fans?

I am so sad I have literally spent the entire evening trying to g

---find a picture in which Andrew Parker Bowles possibly lives up to RCB in my imagination. Possibly OK in one polo pic but otherwise I'm doubting Jilly's inspiration!

Hassell reminds me of Rufus Sewell
Have to admit I don’t remember him from much since Bonkers with Liza Tarbuck years ago. The

Oooh I am so happy to hear that Rivals is being brought to life, but also worried that it will never live up to the book.

Not sure about the casting, as PP have said, nobody is quite gorgeous enough to the RCB

I've just looked up Bonkers and seen that Mark Addy was in it and have decided that he would be really good as Freddie Jones, certainly better than Danny Dyer.

Rufus Sewell, (be still my beating heart) could play sexy Bas Baddingham 😍

They are gonna have to get the contact lenses and hair dye out aren’t they?

Danny dyer is wrong - Freddie is supposed to be short, tubby with merry golden curls isn’t he?

These 2 are Maud and Declan in my head. They were amazing together in Rome

Yeah, Freddy is more like Toby Jones in my head

Richard Armitage is Bas!

Let’s face it. It’s going to be awful. The casting is terrible. I expect they'll miss out chunks of plot and they’re all far too young. I always imagined Liam Neeson as Declan. Aidan turner is far too young!!

I am DEFO showing my age.
But here, Simon Shepherd from Peak Practice (ha) is how I envisioned RCB, with a bit more edge.

I am not sure about these new castings at all.
I bloody loved the JC books. (Still do occasionally!)
It’s odd to see actual people put to characters you’ve read over and over.
Especially when they really don’t marry to the book descriptions…

I don’t think the cast will be too young - I think we (i) have aged up.

I read these books in 1995 when Robert Redford was still hot & we were all still swooning over Tom Cruise in a Few Good Men & in deep mourning for River Phoenix.

RCB is 37 when he marries 19yr old Taggie. I mean, Rupert was quite old (to 15yr old me) back then. He’s 60 in Mount! (2016) so lots of the people we are casting (in our heads) are the right sort of age for the characters now… but not when the book is set.

I agree that a darling buds of may C Zeta Jones is a perfect Taggie - but she’s 53 now - too old to be Taggie today! I can’t get my head round the casting of RCB or Tony though.

I hope they’ve got great people for Archie, Grace, Mrs Makepiece, Joyce etc.

The Robert Redford and Simon Shepherd pictures are more how I view RCB as well, - slightly wavy, longer blond hair with a rakish come-to-bed twinkle in his eye. Trying to rack my brain for a modern equivalent

I couldn't watch the other version of it because RCB was all wrong in that too.

He looks well dirty! Just right….

A couple of suggestions - Johnny Flynn and Freddie Stroma

Who’s playing Billy?!

It’s a good cast anyway although I agree with Pp that I had always imagined Tony B as much meatier than David T. I think this guy might work as RCB, because I don’t think RCB would be what most people would now think of as especially hot. He is of his time.

Rivals is by far her best book and definitely the best one to do, as such a great way to explore the 80s.

He isn’t though - he’s 40, and Declan was 42.

Liam Neeson is 70! it’s because we’re imagining the people who’d have played those parts when we read the book as teens.

I'm in my fifties so watched (and quite enjoyed I have to say) the Riders TV movie/mini series from the early nineties. I know it's been slated here for being a bit cheesy (and fair enough it probably was). I thought the guy who played RCB (Marcus Gilbert) was good though. He played it well as an arrogant, upper class, cool as cucumber, handsome blonde guy. In my head this is what RCB looks like and always will. (Obviously Marcus Gilbert would be too old now and probably not a big enough name for Disney anyway)

A Rufus Sewell type is more Rupert, surely

Oh god James Purefoy pic alert above. In Rome too

💕💕😍

Too skinny, not blond or good looking enough.
Can't quite put my finger on who would fit, perhaps a young titanic age Leo DiCaprio, Ryan Reynolds or Robert Redford as pp suggested in his 30"s. With a beautiful bod but not too skinny

God no, I thought he was young, ripped and blonde. Like this guy (don't know who he is).

For Riders Rupert I picture Freddie Fox. There is something icey and a bit cruel about him.

I guessed totally wrong in the other thread re who was playing who. I thought Katherine Parker would be Maud and David T Declan. I know Declan was only meant to be early 40s but I always pictured him a little older so Aiden Turner does seem quite wrong.

Also I assume they'd age Taggie up a bit these days? Have her early 20s rather than teens?