The Disney+ hit series Rivals was mostly filmed in Bristol and surrounding areas
17:20, 15 May 2026Updated 17:21, 15 May 2026
Rivals star has ‘fallen in love with Bristol'(Image: DISNEY PLUS)
Rivals star Katherine Parkinson has revealed that she has “completely fallen in love with Bristol” while filming Season 2 of the hit Disney+ series,
The Bafta award winning actress, 48, has made a return to our TV screens as she reprised her role as romance author Lizzie Vereker, who was one of the beloved favourites of the first season when she developed an attraction to self-made businessman Freddie Jones and their steamy on-screen affair caused quite a stir.
The series, based on the 1988 novel of the same name by the late, great Dame Jilly Cooper, follows an MP going head-to-head with a TV station owner in the fictional Cotswolds county of Rutshire.
It has become renowned for its frequent, racy sex scenes featuring many of the diverse cast of characters.
The show was filmed at the studios, which are owned by the Bristol City Council, with many of the locations featured in the series within a 30-mile radius around Bristol.
Katherine shared her love for the city(Image: Robert Viglasky Photography)
Just hours before the series dropped, Katherine was joined by her co-star Annabel Scholey, who plays the ruthless journalist Beattie Johnson for a preview screening in Bristol, where most of the show was filmed.
The screening celebrated the role the region had played in creating the popular series and as a champion for moving film-making outside London’s orbit.
Speaking to Bristol Live on the red carpet, Katherine shared her love for the city as she said: “I have completely fallen in love with Bristol.”
She continued: “I mean, I do know it quite well because a lot of my family live down in the West Country, my mum’s family are from the West Country but Bristol specifically I’ve really got to know filming Rivals.”
Sharing the reasons why she loved the city, the actress said: “I love it. I love everything about it, I love the mood of it, I love the architecture, I love what’s nearby, I love the clothes shops, I love the coffee shops.”
Lizzie developed an attraction to self-made businessman Freddie Jones and their steamy on-screen affair caused quite a stir(Image: Robert Viglasky Photography)
“I love seeing the young happy people going around – the students, the undergraduates, all look so sort of sane and not like they’re getting drunk constantly like we did in our student years so I completely love Bristol.”
Co-star Annabel Scholey, who lives in Wiltshire, admitted that it was nice to be able to work so close to home. She explained: “I live not far from Bristol, I live in the South West. I moved here a while ago – about four years ago and I love it, I love it so much. It was really nice for me to go and work at home and travel back.”
She continued: “I love it, I think it is a really exciting place to work, there is so much filming happening here and all the different landscapes in Bristol that you can use. You can be in a period drama for one minute and have a water chase and action show, it’s just so diverse and I think that’s what makes it a really exciting place to be. It’s really nice, it’s really good.”
Annabel admitted that it was nice to be able to work so close to home(Image: Robert Viglasky Photography)
Disney+ teased fans with a partial drop of episodes 1 to 3 of the new series today (May 15). The official synopsis for Season 2 reads: “The battle for the Central South West television franchise reaches a fever pitch as the war between Corinium and Venturer enters a dangerous new phase.
“More ruthless than ever, Tony Baddingham is determined to dismantle his rivals piece-by-piece, weaponising scandal and manipulating those closest to him to maintain his grip on power.”
It continues: “Amidst the hedonistic glamour of 80s excess, the personal lives of our Rutshire heroes spiral into chaos. Marriages fracture under the weight of ambition, illicit affairs threaten to shatter families, and long-buried secrets ignite with explosive consequences.
“As rivalries push everyone to the brink, loyalties are tested and hearts are broken in the pursuit of victory. But what is the true cost of war?”
Rivals season 2 episodes 1-3 will be available to stream on Friday 15 May on Disney+.