A FEW eyebrows were raised in the TV world when two of the biggest stars of hit drama Rivals were revealed to be fronting a game show for ITV.
Actors Emily Atack and Danny Dyer will host the new Saturday night entertainment show, which is due to air next year.
But the parallels between Disney’s Jilly Cooper adaptation and the new programme, called Nobody’s Fool, don’t end with ITV’s choice of hosts.
A TV insider said: “Rivals is the story of a web of rival individuals which is spun around a stately house, Penscombe Court, and their efforts to constantly outdo one another.
“That’s exactly the basis for the new game show, which also has the background of a country pile and sees the competitors try to outwit one another.
“Those in the know are already describing it as ‘a game of intellect and deception’.”
In Rivals, which debuted last year and is based on Jilly’s best-selling 1988 novel, Emily plays an MP’s saucy wife, Sarah Stratton, who was caught playing naked tennis with heart- throb Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) at his Cotswolds mansion.
The scene caused such a stir it was nominated for a Bafta for TV’s most memorable moment of the year.
Meanwhile, Danny plays self-made millionaire Freddie Jones, who is trapped in a loveless marriage, but finds romance elsewhere.
The second series of Rivals is due out next year, which could be particularly awkward if both shows drop around the same time.
LEO’S INSPECTOR NORSE
HE made a pec-tacular impression when starring in the Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix – but the drama’s once mightily muscled leading man looks to have trimmed down.
Leo Suter played hirsute Harald Sigurdsson in two series of the show, a hefty role which required him to lift serious weights to get that warrior physique.
Now the actor is sporting a more refined look to play Tommy Lynley, a police detective in new BBC One thriller Lynley, which will drop this autumn.
The four-parter, which also stars Daniel Mays and Sofia Barclay, is a new adaptation of the best-selling crime novels by Elizabeth George.
Nathaniel Parker played the inspector over six series on the Beeb, between 2001 and 2008.
The dynamic between central character Tommy, who comes from a posh background, and a working-class sergeant, Barbara Havers, played by Sofia, fuels much of the action.
The contrast makes them a formidable crime-fighting duo.
Sofia can always spot Leo, if he starts hitting the gym again.
SU PEELS OFF FOR CAMERA
LOVE Island’s Ekin-Su Culculoglu will swap kisses for the kitchen on the new series of Cooking With The Stars.
And it sounds like she is in the right place as her eating habits are downright disgusting.
Ekin-Su teams up with celebrity chef Poppy O’Toole to learn how to cook on the ITV show, which begins this Sunday at 7pm.
Other celebs taking part include Natalie Cassidy and Jack Osbourne.
Ekin-Su confessed: “I like raw onions, I eat them like apples. During filming I picked up a red onion and peeled the skin, put salt and lemon on it and then I ate it all. The camera crew were shocked.
“The whole day I was burping acid, but it set me up for the day. I didn’t kiss anyone that night.”
And the reality star wonders why she’s still single.
HAPPY Gilmore 2 has gone straight to the top of Netflix’s trending chart nearly 30 years after the original film was released.
The sequel to the cult 1996 comedy sees Adam Sandler reprise his role as golfer Gilmore, who comes out of retirement to help fund his daughter’s ballet dream.
APPLE TV+ has renewed Stick for a second season.
The comedy-drama is exec produced by Owen Wilson, who plays ex-pro golfer Pryce Cahill.
His career was derailed prematurely 20 years ago, but he finds new purpose after meeting troubled teen Santi.
PADDY’S SUNDAY BLUES
PADDY McGUINNESS has had, erm, a bit of a paddy after not being able to sail into his own BBC Radio 2 show.
The comedian, TV presenter and DJ revealed security at the entrance of the Salford studios refuse him entry unless he shows his work pass.
Shortly after kicking off his Sunday morning show last week, Paddy took to the airwaves to moan: “How long have we been doing this show? It’s been over a year, actually.
“I’m just wondering when security are going to know it’s me.
“I’m not even bothered about them recognising me off the telly, or anything I’ve done throughout my career.
“Just the fact that I come in every Sunday for a year and a bloke still wouldn’t let me in this morning.”
