RIVALS star David Tennant has broken his silence on the shock mid-season finale death that has left viewers bereft.
Appearing at a panel for the smash hit Disney+ show, following a screening of the sixth episode at the SXSW festival last night, the Tony Baddingham actor revealed how the cast were also left in the dark about the shock finale.
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*WARNING – SPOILERS FOLLOW FOR RIVALS SEASON 2, EPISODE 6*
David Tennant gave his thoughts on the mid-season Rivals finale at the SXSW festival Credit: Getty
He appeared alongside co-star Claire Rushbrook at the screening and Q&A where he opened up on the shock death Credit: Getty
In a devastating turn of events, based on the real-life Great Storm of 1987, Monica Baddingham died in a car accident when a tree fell and hit her car while travelling during the hurricane.
“Claire [Rushbrook] and I knew what was coming, we were told what the plan was and we’d had the script and when we read through those episodes for the first time with the rest of the cast they didn’t know it,” he said.
“This has been a spoiler we’ve all been keeping very tightly for a long time now.
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“Lots of people didn’t know what was coming and that slow sort of dawning dread as you realise ‘Oh I see where this has to go, I see where we’re being taken to’ was experienced by the cast too.”
He plays show villain Tony Baddingham
David’s on-screen wife Monica Baddingham, played by Claire Rushbrook, died when a tree fell on her car during a huge storm
Tony’s rival Rupert Campbell-Black discovered Monica’s body and was forced to deliver the sad news to him in the mid-season finale Credit: Disney +
Claire admitted it was ‘painful’ saying goodbye to her character and co-stars Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
He continued of the Rivals read through: “It was sort of devastating as people around the room started to realise where the story was going, what that meant in terms of losing Monica and what that meant in terms of losing Claire from our gang too.”
Claire Rushbrook who plays Monica on-screen also described it as “painful” saying goodbye to the Rivals cast and her character.
“I felt very sad actually,” she said. “I love Monica and I love this gang.
“The scripts are extraordinary, Laura Wade is an extraordinary writer and there was no doubt that the scenes I’d been given were a real honour and a privilege on top of being a part of this extraordinary programme.
“So it’s mixed feelings, it’s very painful.”
Rival fans were left devastated by Monica’s death especially after she’d announced she was leaving husband Tony and seeking a divorce after having enough of him and his infidelities.
But some fans think it’s not the last we’ve seen of Monica Credit: Disney +
Before her untimely death, Monica announced she was divorcing her philandering husband Tony Credit: Disney +
But some are convinced it’s not the last we’ll see of Monica as they speculated a shock twist in a future season.
“I’m hoping it’s all a ruse and she has persuaded the others to hide her, tell Tony she’s dead, but she comes back in true Dallas style in the last episode,” one viewer wrote on TikTok. “RIP MonMon. Hopefully just for now.”
Another agreed, adding: “I have a theory that she wanted Rupert to tell him that she died.”
“Or she isn’t really dead and Rupert is helping her escape from Tony?” questioned a third.
Rivals season 2 will return later in the year with a further six episodes for fans to sink their teeth into.
