Rivals

The narrative focuses on class rivalry, personal ambition, sex, and 80s TV industry hedonism. Incidental gay male relationships occur in period context; the prominent Cameron Cook role involves a source-material casting shift but does not center identity politics plots.

The story shows cutthroat TV business, powerful men's abuses (including one assault cover-up), class snobbery, and conservative political figures, but the overall tone is satirical, affectionate, and hedonistic rather than ideological attacks on Western institutions, patriarchy, or capitalism.

Cameron Cook was cast with a black actress unlike the novel's pale-skinned description; other changes include some plot adjustments (such as character arcs or deaths in season 2) that Jilly Cooper approved, with few other identity-driven canon shifts.

Public and critical reaction has been largely positive for the racy and un-PC spirit; most complaints concern book deviations rather than accusations of woke or DEI messaging, with very little organized anti-woke criticism found.

Jilly Cooper publicly admired Thatcher, supported Conservatives, and criticized feminism and political correctness. Dominic Treadwell-Collins previously rejected diversity box-ticking on EastEnders; other contributors show mostly professional or mild class-focused work without strong recurring identity or activist patterns.