Rivals is back with a bang as raunchy second series continues with a steamy threesome, plane romp, same-sex car hook-up and plenty more nudity - as critics hail 'glorious return of the bonkbuster'

Part two of Rivals' second series was back with a bang – quite literally – on Wednesday as Rutshire's residents returned with more racy action, steamy affairs and fiendish double crossing. 

Critics have lauded the latest instalment of the show – based on the 1988 book of the late author Jilly Cooper – calling it 'a glorious return of the bonkbuster' with 'oodles of sex' and 'posho rumpy-pumpy'.

Since the series burst onto our screens two years ago, its main talking point has been the daring sex scenes, and the three new episodes will be no exception.

While the first episode picks up with Monica Baddingham's (Claire Rushbrook) sombre funeral after her death in a cliff-hanger car accident at the end of part one, things soon take a racy turn.

As the funeral is going on, two illicit couples sneak off for some raunchy alone time, including Danny Dyer's character Freddie Jones who enjoys a romp with Lizzie Vereker (Katherine Parkinson).

As their passionate affair turns up a notch, they get more daring in the bedroom as they agree afterwards that what they'd got up to was 'too X-rated' to be inspiration for her next romance book. 

Also during the funeral, same-sex couple Gerald and Charles also sneak off for an explicit car scene, getting intimate as unaware dog walkers pass by close to their vehicle. 

The funeral also sees the arrival of Monica's older sister Araminta who later after the service tries to seduce her late sibling's husband Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) as a trap. 

After the long day, which sees him romp with Lizzie, Freddie then returns to his marital bed with wife Valerie – who it turns out also wants a bit of action.

They then end up in the exact same position he had enjoyed with Lizzie earlier that day as he sends his wife wild. 

Yet despite continuing his physical relationship with wife Valerie, he still takes things further with married Lizzie in the second episode – and enjoys a romp with her on a private jet as they fly back from a lunch date in Paris.

Other cheeky moments come when Tony moves on from his wife's death, with a romp on the billiards table with his colleague Beattie Johnson following a boozy dinner with others from his TV production company Corinium. 

And things don't stop there as the third and final episode features some of the raciest scenes yet. 

It centres on a wild toga party thrown by Basil (Luke Pasqualino) where guests openly engage in daring sex acts all around the house.

It ends with Basil having a threesome with another man and woman in Rupert Campbell-Black's (Alex Hassell) bed until he bursts in on them. 

On the same night of the party, Lizzie and Freddie enjoy yet another night of passion with each other, before taking a bubble bath.

Her husband James then returns home earlier than she had been expecting, leaving Freddie scrambling out the bathroom window completely naked.

The end of the second part of series two finishes with several other cliff hangers too, as Rupert and Taggie (Bella Maclean) come close to confessing their true love for each other and cementing it with a kiss.

However, in the tense scene, Rupert pulls away from her attempt at a kiss saying he wouldn't be able to make her happy.

Elsewhere Corinium's war against Declan O'Hara's (Aidan Turner) rival TV company Venturer becomes even more bitter. 

Fans will now have to wait for the final instalments of season two which will land weekly on Disney+ from November 18.

The Times' Carol Midgley lauded the show with a thrilling five stars this week and told viewers to 'close the curtains, pour a glass of fizz and celebrate a welcome return' and reflected that 'the constant in the series is that it doesn't take life too seriously'. 

The Independent's Nick Hilton gave three stars while stating: 'All of that is well and good. Rivals is a high-class soap opera, with slightly racier sex scenes'.

Heavy emphasis was placed on hardman Danny's nude scene – with The Telegraph's Anita Singh writing: 'If you've ever wanted to know what Danny Dyer looks like in the buff, well, this is the show for you.'

Hello! Magazine's Emmy Griffiths joined The Independent in giving a three-star review while reflecting on the transition from playful into the morose. 

She writes: 'While all shows, of course, need their moments of darkness, it feels as though Rivals' once-brilliant spark has been somewhat dulled. That is not to say that the show doesn't still have its moments of brilliance.'

Collider's Therese Lacson mused: 'Despite some issues with pacing — which can be almost entirely blamed on the bizarre split-season release — Rivals Season 2 proves it can not only embrace the glitz and glamor of Cooper's world, but also forge its own path and create something new.' 

Asked about his 'naked bath flit out' in the new episodes Danny, 49, recently admitted the scene was 'farcical' to film.

'The hardest bit is laying in a bath all day and going wrinkly, do you know what I mean? It wasn't the biggest bath in the world but I thought it was quite cute,' he explained.

'It gets a bit farcical in the end, and they had to put the bubbles in a good place, but they didn't show the bit when I climb out the window, thank you Lord above!

'I don't think anybody wants to see a 50-year-old man swinging his old a**e out of a window. But, yeah, we both had hands of 110-year-olds when we got out the bath, so not the most attractive.'

Danny also heaped praise on his female co-stars who he loves sharing the screen with.

'I love working with Katherine [Parkinson], she is f***ing amazing, and I love Lisa [McGrillis] as well. I've said this before but I'm very grateful to be in Rivals and very lucky to be surrounded by the best of the best actors – and that's across the board.'

In a season two episode which aired earlier this year Danny bared all after vowing to show solidarity with his female co-stars who have stripped off in the racy drama.

Episode four saw Danny and Katherine strip nude to film a sex scene in a swimming pool, with Danny previously joking he was worried how he would look on screen because it was 'cold' during filming.

Speaking to the Radio Times ahead of transmission he joked about baring all, saying: 'I go full frontal in this series, if they keep it in the edit. It's a night shoot, and it was cold, and I'd better not say any more.'

However, he revealed he felt it was important that he too bare all when his female co-stars have famously gone topless on the show.

Rivals is available now on Disney+.