Rivals’ Nafessa Williams discusses filming the show’s racy Sєx scenes

Rivals star Nafessa Williams has opened up about filming the show’s racy Sєx scenes, saying that while it ‘wasn’t easy’ she felt supported by her co-stars Alex Hᴀssell and David Tennant. 

Nafessa, 36, stars as American TV producer Cameron Cook in the raunchy show, which is based on Jilly Cooper’s novel. 

The series is packed with X-rated Sєx scenes, which Nafessa said was helped by the show’s producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins operating a ‘no a***holes’ policy with casting. 

Yet she admitted that it was still a struggle stripping off for the racy scenes, telling Harper’s Bazaar UK: ‘They are not easy – they’re the most vulnerable place you’ll ever find yourself. 

‘But the leader sets the tone, and we owe a lot to David and Alex too, helming the show, always being generous, always being gentlemen.’ 

Nafessa also expressed her gratefulness for intimacy coordinators, having not filmed a Sєx scene before Rivals and previously thinking: ‘Why don’t these gorgeous people just roll around and do it?’ 

Indeed there’s no shortage of raunchy scenes in season two of the hit show, which was released on Disney+ on Friday.  

Rivals star Nafessa Williams has opened up about filming the show’s racy Sєx scenes, saying that while it ‘wasn’t easy’ she felt supported by her co-stars Alex Hᴀssell and David Tennant

Nafessa, 36, stars as American TV producer Cameron Cook in the raunchy show, which is based on Jilly Cooper’s novel

The series is packed with X-rated Sєx scenes, which Nafessa said was helped by the show’s producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins operating a ‘no a***holes’ policy with casting

While just three of the 12 episodes have been released as of yet, there is no shortage of racy scenes, with the characters wasting no time stripping off and indulging in acts of pᴀssion. 

Just eight minutes into the first episode and viewers are confronted with the sight of two flaccid penises as brothers Sebbie and Dommie Carlisle, played by Maxim Ays and Bobby Lockwood, strip off and go skinny dipping at a pool party. 

A mere two minutes later the first Sєx scene occurs, between Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hᴀssell) and Cameron Cook (Nafessa), shortly followed by a racy shower Sєx scene performed by Declan and Maud O’Hara (Aidan Turner and Victoria Smurfit) while enjoying a night away at a H๏τel. 

Yet Declan and Maud’s pᴀssionate tryst soon turns into an equally pᴀssionate row, resulting in Declan being kicked out of the room while fully ɴuᴅᴇ and being forced to cover his modesty with a box of cereal aptly named ‘crunchy nut flakes’. 

It’s in this scene that EastEnders’ Pam St Clement makes a surprise cameo as a fellow H๏τel patron who stumbles across a ɴuᴅᴇ Declan in the corridor. As Declan runs away, Pam’s character has the line of the season as she asks ‘was that Terry Wogan?’ 

Having featured enough racy moments to make Rivals writer Dame Jilly Cooper proud, episode one concludes with a sweet tribute to the late author. 

Before the credits roll, up flashes a black and white pH๏τograph of the writer, who died last October after a fall at her home while season two was still being filmed. 

Episode two is far more limited with its racy content, yet to make up for it, the episode opens with a lengthy Sєx montage between Rupert and Cameron.  

The only other cheeky moment occurs when Paul Stratton (Rufus Jones) is filmed in the shower with his bare bottom on display. 

Yet she admitted that it was still a struggle stripping off for the racy scenes, telling Harper’s Bazaar : ‘They are not easy – they’re the most vulnerable place you’ll ever find yourself’

Nafessa added: ‘But the leader sets the tone, and we owe a lot to David and Alex too, helming the show, always being generous, always being gentlemen’

Nafessa also expressed her gratefulness for intimacy coordinators, having not filmed a Sєx scene before Rivals

While not explicitly shown, the theme of Sєx is prominent in episode three, as MP Rupert’s campaign for re-election is threatened after being exposed as a ‘Sєxual deviant’. 

His past indiscretions, including taking part in Sєx parties, involving his wife in foursomes and his infidelities are discussed at length. 

In what later appears to be a nod to Colin Firth’s famous Pride and Prejudice scene, Rupert is soaked by a hose while wearing a white vest and shirt. 

A departure from the raunchiness comes with Lizzie and James Vereker’s (Katherine Parkinson and Oliver Chris) Sєx scene. 

Devoid of any kind of pᴀssion, the pair are filmed briefly underneath bed sheets, with Oliver encouraging his wife to let the ‘mole live in the hole’.  

This is swiftly followed by a scene implying that Sarah Stratton (Emily Atack) is performing oral Sєx on her husband Paul, but nothing is explicitly shown. 

The final Sєx scene is episode three is far more graphic and features political hopeful Gerald Middleton (Hubert Burton) and TV producer Charles Fairburn (Gary Lamont). 

Their romance was introduced in the first season of the show, with Rivals executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins explaining why they felt the need to introduce a gay romance into the show when it didn’t feature in the books. 

Dominic told Radio Times: ‘In the book, Charles and Gerald are both gay characters, but they never actually cross. What was really important to us was alongside the heteroSєxual love stories, telling a big, swooping gay love story.’

In episode one of Rivals Declan (Aidan Turner) is kicked out of his H๏τel room while fully ɴuᴅᴇ and being forced to cover his modesty with a box of cereal aptly named ‘crunchy nut flakes’

It’s in this scene that EastEnders star Pam St Clement makes a surprise cameo as a fellow H๏τel patron who stumbles across a ɴuᴅᴇ Declan in the corridor

Just eight minutes into the first episode and viewers are confronted with the sight of two flaccid penises as brothers Sebbie and Dommie Carlisle, played by Maxim Ays and Bobby Lockwood, strip off and go skinny dipping at a pool party

Episode two is far more limited with its racy content, yet to make up for it, the episode opens with a lengthy Sєx montage between Rupert and Cameron (Hᴀssell and Williams) 

In what later appears to be a nod to Colin Firth’s famous Pride and Prejudice scene, Rupert is soaked by a hose while wearing a white vest and shirt

A departure from the raunchiness comes with Lizzie and James Vereker’s (Katherine Parkinson and Oliver Chris) Sєx scene

The final Sєx scene is episode three is far more graphic and features political hopeful Gerald Middleton (Hubert Burton) and TV producer Charles Fairburn (Gary Lamont) 

Having featured enough racy moments to make Rivals writer Dame Jilly Cooper proud, episode one concludes with a sweet tribute to the late author

When asked if this was an example of ‘pushing a gay agenda’, Dominic responded: ‘I have a humanity agenda. It’s about making everyone stop thinking about themselves and instead empathise with other people.’

The timing of Charles and Gerald’s storyline is also relevant, given it’s set against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis and Margaret Thatcher’s Section 28 policy, which banned schools from teaching children about homoSєxuality.

Ahead of its release, Rivals series two received rave reviews from critics, who hailed it an ‘exquisite bonkbuster’ that was able to live up to the acclaimed first season. 

The official synopsis for Rivals reads: ‘In the cutthroat world of 1980s television, where the shoulder pads are big and ambitions even bigger, a long-standing rivalry boils over. 

‘In this award-winning drama capturing the joy, excess, and brazen power-grabbing of the affluent elite in 1980s England, ex-Olympian and notorious womaniser Rupert Campbell-Black goes head-to-head with the media mogul Tony Baddingham in a bid to win the Central South West television franchise. 

‘Amidst the hedonistic glamour of ’80s excess, the personal lives of our Rutshire heroes spiral into chaos when 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?’

The first three episodes of Rivals season two are available on Disney+ now. 

Episode four will be released on May 22, with the remaining episodes released on the subsequent Fridays. 

Rivals Series two: Reviews  

The Guardian

‘If I could give this exquisite bonkbuster 10,000 stars, I would… Its fabulous escapism is beyond earthly praise’

The Telegraph 

‘Rivals continues to refresh the parts that other television cannot reach – a heady mix of guilty pleasure, trenchant satire, rambunctious comedy and out-and-out trash.’

The Times

‘Despite its deliberate corniness, this is also gloriously uplifting television. It is unashamedly celebratory and perhaps even better than the last series.’ 

The Independent

‘There is a sense, across the cast, that everyone is enjoying themselves immensely, whether they’re romping on a pony or romping on a staircase.’

Financial Times 

‘Some of the storylines, particularly those about the TV industry, drag a little. Rivals needs more slapstick, more of those capers, to keep things as light as they need to be for it to really work.’ 

Metro

‘Rivals arrives for its second outing with the swagger of a show that knows it’s already got us all on side… How good it feels to be back. Mercifully, little has changed.’