Exclusive King Charles’ hometown of Tetbury, in Gloucestershire may soon be besieged by hundreds of “Rutshire” fans of Jilly Cooper’s new raunchy drama, Rivals, set in the Eighties. Just three miles from the King’s home at Highgrove, Tetbury was made over as fictional “Cotchester” in the so-called “bonkbuster” story, soon to go out on Disney +. It may even be a repeat of the popularity enjoyed by Clarkson’s Farm, which saw fans blocking roads, and descending on nearby picture postcard Chipping Norton.
But Sue Leyfield from Visit Tetbury was positive about hundreds of TV fans arriving in the pretty coloured Cotswolds' town next month. “We do welcome new visitors,” she said. Filming was done in the centre of Tetbury, she said.
“They were good and very understanding while they were filming. They shot on Long Street, and in the Church. “In fact we were quite excited to see so many stars and recognisable faces like David Tennant, Emily Atak and Aidan Turner.
“Julie Cooper's [the writer] house is nearby, the other side of Stroud. “We get a lot of visitors anyway because of Highgrove, and the Arboretum which are only two to three miles away.” Asked if they were expecting a big influx, like Clarkson's Farm (Prime Video) experienced, she said: “It is only going out on Disney + so we don’t really know how many will turn up.
“We could cope with an influx, we could. “We’d be very happy!” She added: “Anything that helps the High Street and l.