David Tennant has revealed that his ‘favourite days on set’ Disney+’s new TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s famous 1988 novel involved a familiar face.

David appears alongside Alex Hassell, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson and Victoria Smurfit in the ‘raunchy’ new drama, which is set in the English countryside in the mid-1980s.

But the Doctor Who star’s on-screen wife, Lady Monica Baddingham, is played by none other than former co-star Claire Rushbrook, who starred alongside Tennant in season 2 episodes The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit as Ida Scott.

“And to have that husband and wife relationship. When she embodied Monica, there was no doubt of exactly who that woman was,” he added.

“She’s just glorious, and she’s also one of the loveliest, funniest people with the dirtiest sense of humour. I think possibly my favourite days on set were the Mr and Mrs Baddingham days.”

So far, the show has won unanimous praise from critics, with the Mail pointing out the show stays true to “Jilly’s obsession with bonking, boozing, groping and relentless political incorrectness”, while The Telegraph’s review hailed it as an “un-PC romp” that “stays true to Jilly Cooper’s spirit”.

Rivals arrives on Disney+ on 18 October.