Dame Jilly Cooper told Rivals writers to stop making her 'macho men' cry

Dame Jilly Cooper scolded the team behind Rivals and told them to stop making her 'macho men' cry on screen. 

The Disney+ show, which stars Danny Dyer, David Tennant and Emily Atack, is based on the best-selling novel written by Dame Jilly who died unexpectedly last October, aged 88, after suffering injuries from a fall at home.

Now, an executive producer on the show has said Dame Jilly had dished out one memorable piece of criticism on set.

Speaking at Hay Festival on Sunday, Laura Wade, writer and executive producer of Rivals, said: 'We were so lucky to have Jilly… You would expect someone to be quite strict about what you do with their key characters, and she really wasn't.

'She would tell us, if I was making Rupert (Campbell-Black) cry too often, that was one of her favourites – "stop making my macho men cry all the time".'

Set in the 1980s, with the backdrop of the Cotswolds countryside, Rivals follows the high-stakes world of British television as careers, marriages and reputations hang by a thread when professional and personal lives collide.

Dame Jilly was an active part of its production and served as an executive producer.

Elsewhere at the festival, Victoria Smurfit, who plays Maud O'Hara in Rivals, recalled the moment the cast and crew found out about Dame Jilly's sudden death.

The actress said: 'I came back (from a break) and Eliza Mellor, our extraordinary on-set producer, was in the room and everything about her was devastated, and I remember walking in and going, 'Oh God, someone's died'.

'And it is a testament to Jilly's sparkle and her champagne soaked soul of heavenly delight that at 88 there was not one iota of me that thought it might be her.

'She'd been across all the episodes, she'd been across season three, she'd been across everything, and she dropped and rolled…

'And now she gets to have fun up there.'

Dame Jilly died from a head injury after falling down a flight of stairs at her Cotswolds home, an inquest has heard last year.

The writer - known for raunchy novels such as Riders, Rivals and Polo - was found by family at her Grade II listed home in Bisley, Gloucestershire, at around 5pm on October 4.

They called for an ambulance and upon arrival, paramedics found Dame Jilly alert and referring to a 'severe headache'.

She had no memory of the events prior, but had a 'vague recollection' of falling down, the inquest heard.

Dame Jilly's daughter, Emily Tarrant, believed her mother had fallen down the stairs as a 'trail of blood' was found in that area of her home where she lived after the death of her husband Leo in 2013.

She was rushed to hospital where a CT scan revealed she had suffered a 'catastrophic' skull fracture.

Doctors heartbreakingly informed her family it was 'likely a terminal event' and she was made comfortable.

The author's condition deteriorated overnight and she died the following morning in hospital surrounded by loved ones.

She had sustained two falls previously in 2018 and September 2024.

Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, reached a conclusion of accidental death and said Dame Jilly died as a result of a traumatic subdural haematoma.

The undisputed queen of the 'bonkbuster' sold more than 11 million books in the UK alone during her prolific career as one of Britain's most-popular female writers. 

The author is estimated to have left behind a staggering £10million fortune, the Daily Mail revealed.

Her best-selling romps portraying the scandals, betrayals and fabulous lifestyles of the horse-loving country set earned her in excess of £5million.

Dame Jilly's work reached a new generation of fans after Rivals - one of her biggest-selling books - was turned into a smash hit Disney+ series.

Queen Camilla was among those who paid tribute following Dame Jilly's death.

The pair first met when Queen Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles who is said to have been one of the inspirations for rakish aristocrat Rupert Campbell-Black - the central character in the chronicles. 

In a touching message, she remembered a woman whom she described as a 'wonderfully witty and compassionate friend'.

Her Majesty said: 'Very few writers get to be a legend in their own lifetime, but Jilly was one, creating a whole new genre of literature and making it her own through a career that spanned over five decades.'

She added: 'I join my husband, The King in sending our thoughts and sympathies to all her family.

'And may her hereafter be filled with impossibly handsome men and devoted dogs.'

Dame Jilly's children Felix Cooper and Ms Tarrant also paid tribute to her.

They said: 'Mum was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds.

'Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock. We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can't begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us.'

Dame Jilly's first novel in the Rutshire series, Riders, was published in 1985.

It made the BBC list of 100 important English language novels in the love, sex and romance selection alongside Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice.

One of her literary fans was former prime minister Rishi Sunak who previously spoke about his favourite books by Dame Jilly, adding that her novels offered a form of 'escapism'.