David Tennant says explosive Rivals episode 4 scene felt "very liberating"

It's a scene that the former Doctor Who star has admitted actually felt "liberating" in an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com.

When asked about the scene in question, in which his character, Lord Tony Baddingham, loses his cool and smashes up Declan O'Hara's (Aidan Turner) TV show set, Tennant said: “In some ways it’s very liberating, very therapeutic."

He went on: "In other ways, you’re very aware that you’ve got one take to not mess it up because there’s only one set and you’re only going to get one proper go at this. So, it’s a mixture.

"I think we did it last thing on a Friday so you were very aware that everyone wanted this to go well so they could all go home."

The fourth episode is certainly a turning point for the three men at the centre of the drama: Tony (Tennant), Declan (Turner) and Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell). The rest of Rutshire – like those of us watching at home – waited with bated breath to see whether Declan would punish Rupert after all and bring down the former Olympian live on air.

But choosing not to do so, Declan ended up pleasing those closest to him by taking the higher road but in the process, absolutely angered his boss Tony.

Of course, being the MD of Corinium Television, we can suspect that this'll have major repercussions on Declan but for the time being, we know that Tony is far from pleased.

Sitting by himself on the set in the darkness and being watched by an onlooking Cameron (Nafessa Williams) from the control room, Tony chucks glasses, hurls chairs at the walls, kicks over plants and screams in complete anger.

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It's safe to say that we'll just have to keep watching to see how Declan's decision continues to reverberate through Corinium, but something tells us the battle for power is well and truly on.

The role of Tony Baddingham is one that Tennant obviously manages to inhabit extremely well, but it's a role that the actor has also admitted has come with "a great deal of expectation".

Talking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about taking on the role, Tennant said: “Well, it comes with a great deal of expectation, turns out.

"I mean, people love this book and it has meant a great deal to people for generations now so that always takes a bit of a deep breath, knowing that you’re taking something on that you don’t want to break because there are people who have very clear ideas of what these characters are or have expectations for what they’re looking for."

He continued: "But, at the end of the day, you’re just going to go, 'I have a script and I have the version of the characters that I can give you, this is how it occurs to me and these are the people I’m working with.'"

Rivals is available to stream on Disney Plus from 18th October 2024. Sign up to Disney Plus now for £4.99 per month or £79.90 for a full year.

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