Set in the glorious (fictional) Cotswold county of Rutshire, the novel is about rivalry in love, rivalry in business – and Cooper's favourite – plain old social rivalry.
Woven through the book is the tale of the pitch for the Corinium Television franchise. Will it go to the smooth but dislikeable incumbent MD Tony Baddingham or to the rival syndicate set up by the beautiful kingpin of the county, Rupert Campbell-Black, and his motley crew of cronies?
The producers of the new TV series promise to alter it slightly for 21st-century TV screens, but surely Cooper's unique characterisation and her exquisite blend of glamour, romance and betrayal will feature nevertheless. There will be a mutiny if not!
Here, we share the details that have emerged about the most exciting TV event of the year.
ONE
The series is produced by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios, and will be streamed in the UK on Disney+.
TWO
Dominic Treadwell-Collins, who set up Happy Prince, is leading the writing team. Treadwell-Collins produced EastEnders for years and recently turned his hand to the brilliant A Very English Scandal. He says he has been 'wooing' Jilly Cooper since he first started working in television.
THREE
Jilly Cooper, 86, has said: 'Disney are joining forces with an utterly brilliant drama company, Happy Prince, to turn my novel into a TV series. I know they will bring the boardroom battles and love triangles of my characters to life – particularly those of my devastatingly handsome hero, Rupert Campbell-Black.'
FOUR
David Tennant is playing the slick, titled TV executive and Campbell-Black's nemesis, Tony Baddingham.
FIVE
Danny Dyer is playing the self-made electronics millionaire, Freddie Jones.
SIX
Aidan Turner – of Poldark fame – will play the charming, tortured, irascible writer and TV presenter, Declan O'Hara.
SEVEN
Alex Hassell, whose acclaimed roles have taken him from Shakespeare's Globe to Hollywood and back again, will play Rupert Campbell-Black. Cooper said: 'The minute we met with Alex we knew he'd perfectly embody my all-time hero, the iconic, racy, ruthless, and devastatingly handsome, Rupert Campbell-Black. Viewers are in for a treat!'
EIGHT
Felicity Blunt – who is Jilly Cooper's literary agent and, incidentally, Emily Blunt's sister and Stanley Tucci's wife – is an executive producer on the show. The safest of hands, we reckon.
NINE
The TV series will have eight parts, which sounds rather too few to the mega-fans at the GWG.
TEN
Filming has begun, which we know because Danny Dyer was recently spotted on location at a 16th-century house in Gloucestershire. Other parts of the series will be filmed at a swanky new facility in Bristol, called The Bottle Yard Studios.
By Becky Ladenburg
March 2023
