Aidan Turner has set fan hearts aflutter with his portrayal of Declan O’Hara in Rivals, Disney+’s steamy new show adapted from Jilly Cooper’s novel of the same name.
The Irish actor has long been the subject of affection for viewers across the globe, which began largely after his breakout role in BBC drama Poldark. Turner’s performance in the romantic drama saw him become an overnight sensation because of its many shirtless scenes, and it is clear that Rivals has been able to tap into the same idea.
Rivals sees Declan and his family enter an unfamiliar world when he is hired by TV producer Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) for a new talk show, there he is thrust into the centre of a rivalry between Tony and ex-showjumper Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell). Rupert shamelessly sleeps with every woman he lays his eyes on, which creates tension for Declan and his family when he begins to take an interest in the journalist’s daughter Taggie (Bella Maclean).
Viewers who tuned into Rivals in its first few hours shared their delight at seeing Turner on screen again, with others also sharing their excitement at seeing Tennant and Danny Dyer in the series too. It was Turner who drummed up the most interest, with several people sharing pictures and clips of the actor in the series and some even saying they wished he had taken on Hassell’s role instead.
One person wrote: “LOVING Aidan Turner in Rivals, definite tache/Cap vibes”, while another said: Aidan Turner and Alex Hassell would have been better cast in the other’s roles.”
Hassell, for his part, appears in the most sex scenes and goes fully nude for the series, but his co-stars also have their fair share of racy moments on-screen too — for Turner this is for scenes featuring Declan and his wife Maud (Victoria Smurfit). It’s these scenes and Turner’s presence himself in the show that has drummed up so much interest.
The actor had a long and varied career before Poldark gave him to stratospheric levels of fame, with shows like BBC’s Being Human providing him with his breakout role as vampire John Mitchell.
People began to become aware of Turner back in 2009 thanks to the show, which also gave Russell Tovey his breakout role. In 2012 the actor broke into Hollywood with his appearance in The Hobbit trilogy as one of the dwarves whom Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) helped to reclaim the Lonely Mountain.
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It certainly helped that Turner portrayed Kili, who is described as “handsome and physically able”, which allowed him to be the dwarf with the least amount of prosthetics. His romance with elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) was also a through line of all three films, perfectly setting Turner up to be the heartthrob he is seen as today.
Things then reached dizzying heights when Turner appeared in Poldark, scenes of him using a scythe while shirtless or walking out of the sea quickly went viral. His heart-racing appearance on the show led to debates around the female gaze and the objectification of men, but most importantly it cemented his sex symbol status for many viewers.
Which is why it is no surprise then that Turner’s appearance in Rivals has caused such a stir.
The show’s first episode goes all out with sex scenes, book-ending the narrative with a scene featuring Rupert and a journalist in an airplane bathroom and closing out with another scene that shows almost every character in the throes of romance with their respective lovers. It’s very typical of Jilly Cooper, one could say, which is why fans enjoyed it so much.
One person said “30 secs in and I love it.” while another added: “Episode one done. It’s magnificent! Well done @DisneyPlus and Dame Jilly.”
One person wrote: “#rivals everything I expected and more! 80s hair, music and debauchery! I love it!”, and another viewer similarly said: “I f**king love #rivals on #DisneyPlus so glad it hasn’t disappointed me as it is my favourite book ever (and no I’m not embarrassed to admit it)”.
No doubt viewers will continue to enjoy the show’s steamy nature the more time they have to get stuck into the Disney+ series, and Turner is sure to continue to be a highlight.
Rivals is out on Disney+ now.