Where was Rivals filmed? The rural England county behind the rowdy Disney+ series

Rivals, an outrageous, raunchy adaptation of the Jilly Cooper novel, has dived back into the lives of the upper-class elite – and viewers have been captivated by the countryside ever since the second series of debauchery debuted on Disney+.

Set in the charming fictional county of 80s Rutshire and centred on the cutthroat television world of Corinium TV, the new steamy 12-part series is backdropped by the best of south west England’s scenery.

Based across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire - England’s largest National Landscape – crews sent cameras rolling in the Cotswolds for 10 months in 2025 to capture its latest countryside romp.

With chaotic dinner parties, boozy polo matches and helicopter chases on the itineraries, these old-world landscapes of rural England are far from sleepy.

From country estates to polo clubs, here are the lavish locations behind the hit “bonkbuster”.

Read more: You can play your own game of Traitors at this Cotswolds getaway

Where was Rivals season one filmed?

England

Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Tetbury was the scene of the fictional village of Cotchester. Signage was replaced and shopfronts were reimagined, including banners welcoming the then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In real life, the Cotswolds civil parish is not far from Highgrove House, previously the family residence of King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Chavenage House, Tetbury

In this series, journalist Declan O’Hara moves wife Maud and daughters Taggie and Caitlin into their new home of classic Cotswolds stone – Chavenage House, aka “The Priory”. The Elizabethan estate, built in 1576, has previously been seen on screen in Poldark and is open for visitors via reservation for £12 per person.

Berkeley House, Tetbury

Cameron Cook’s house, “Hamilton Terrace”, was filmed at grade II-listed luxury holiday rental Berkeley House, 16 the Chipping, in Tetbury. The three-storey Georgian townhouse boasts a large front drawing room, cellar and landscaped gardens.

Neston Park, Wiltshire

The grade II-listed home of David Tennant’s character, Lord Tony Baddingham, dates back to around 1790 and “The Falconry” is the host of garden parties, helicopter landings and punch-ups across the series. The estate in Neston is not currently open for public access.

Corsham, Wiltshire

The fictional village of Cotchester was also staged in Wiltshire’s Corsham, a stone market town of historic buildings and quaint coffee shops.

Battleaxes at Wraxall

According to IMDb, the cameras rolled in Battleaxes at Wraxall, a Grade II-listed Tudor-style gastropub in place of a fictional Rutshire restaurant. The 1882 watering hole closed for pints in 2019, reopening last year as The Temperance House offices for property developers and architects Studio Hive.

Cranmore Station, Somerset

Cranmore, the main railway station of the preserved East Somerset Railway, is where underdog love affair Freddie and Lizzie (Danny Dyer and Katherine Parkinson) filmed their rail-side encounter. Families visiting Somerset can take steam trains with Santa or ride and dine on festive high teas from the station throughout December.

Bristol, England

From the south west countryside to a south west city, Bristol is the backdrop to several scenes in Rivals, with the Castlewood office in Clevedon featured as the Corinium TV headquarters.

Aeronautical technology museum Aerospace in Filton hosts the set of the Concorde for interior scenes and that opening romp, while Corn Street cosplayed the capital for London street shots of the Harbour Hotel and club scenes at The Cosy Club.

Rivals was also the first project to make use of TBY2 at Bristol’s The Bottle Yard Studios, including the replica 80s TV studios for Declan O’Hara’s chat show.

Spain

Much of episode six of the steamy series takes place in Spain, where Cameron and Rupert wind up staying in the same hotel.

It’s at the five-star Las Dunas Grand Luxury Hotel in Estepona where the star-crossed lovers first exchange gazes across their Andalusian-style balconies.

Elsewhere during their Spanish rendezvous, the unlikely couple take a walk through the ornate Calle San Agustin, the Plaza del Obispo and drink on the terrace of Casa de los Bates Restaurant in the historic centre of Malaga.

Where was Rivals season two filmed?

Beaufort Polo Club, Tetbury

The Beaufort Polo Club, one of the UK’s most prestigious, was used for close-ups of the Rutshire Cup sequence seen on screen in episode one. Established in 1872, summer weekday matches are typically free to watch for Rivals fans now looking to pitch up at the polo.

Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire

The crew also created their own polo pitch in the grounds of Berkeley Castle for much of the match in series two. The historic castle, built in 1153, remains the home of the Berkeley family today, with seasonal garden tours, a cafe and gift shop open to the public.

Ammerdown House, Somerset

Campbell-Black’s country abode, Penscombe Court, has welcomed Cameron Cook in the first instalment of the second series. Actually, Ammerdown House in Kilmersdon, the 1788 Grade I listed building, is currently occupied by Lord Hylton and his family and not open to the public.

Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel

Declan and Maud O’Hara stay at the 150-year-old grade II-listed Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel in episode one. Extensively refurbished in 2019, the Marriott sits close to the harbourside, cobbled Denmark Street and the Bristol Hippodrome Theatre, where you can also spot this season of Rivals.

The first three episodes of ‘Rivals’ season two are streaming now on Disney+

Read more: Is the Cotswolds accessible? A wheelchair user’s guide on where to go