*Warning – contains major spoilers for Rivals season 2 episode 6.*
The latest episode of Rivals season 2 ended with a shocking and sad twist: Claire Rushbrook’s character, Monica, was killed when a tree fell on her car during a storm.
She was driving Maud’s daughter, Caitlin, home after discovering her husband, Tony, was having an affair with Maud.
She had broken up with Tony and intended to confess everything to Maud’s husband, Declan (Aidan Turner), but she never reached his house.
Caitlin managed to leave the car and tell her family what had happened. Rupert (Alex Hassell) had the difficult task of informing Tony about the devastating news.
After a screening of the episode at the SXSW festival, David Tennant shared that he and co-star Olivia Rushbrook were told what would happen to Monica beforehand. They then got to observe the rest of the cast’s surprised reactions when everyone read the script together.
David Tennant and Claire knew the storyline in advance. They had been briefed on the plan and received the scripts, and when they first read through the episodes with the rest of the cast, everyone else was kept in the dark. Tennant said they’d been carefully guarding this secret for a long time.
Many cast members, like the audience, gradually realized the direction the story was taking and felt a growing sense of unease as they understood what was about to happen.
It was really upsetting as everyone began to understand how the story would end, and what it meant for losing both Monica and Claire from our group.
Want to see this content?
This page uses a security feature called Google reCAPTCHA. Before it loads, we need your permission because it might use cookies and similar technologies. If you want to see the content, please select ‘Accept and continue’ to enable reCAPTCHA.
Rushbrook shared that she was genuinely saddened by the news. She expressed her deep affection for both Monica and the show’s cast, praising the exceptional writing of Laura Wade and describing the scenes she received as a true honor and a privilege to be a part of such a remarkable program. She admitted to having a lot of conflicting emotions.
The second season of Rivals will continue with six new episodes in November. A short trailer is already available, giving viewers a preview of what’s to come.
As a critic, I’ve been following the sports drama Rivals, and fans will be happy to know Season 2 dropped on Disney+ on May 15th, 2026, with more episodes rolling out through November. If you’re not already a subscriber, Disney+ plans start at just £5.99 a month – a pretty good deal to catch all the action.
Keep up with Rivals by adding them to your watchlist on the TopMob: What to Watch app! Download it now to get daily TV recommendations, exclusive features, and more.
Authors
James Hibbs writes about TV dramas for TopMob, covering shows on streaming services and traditional channels. Before becoming a writer, he worked in public relations, first at a business-to-business agency and then at the international production company Fremantle. He has a BA in English and Theatre Studies and a Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
- Visit us on Twitter
Read More
- USD HKD PREDICTION
- SUI PREDICTION. SUI cryptocurrency
- EUR CNY PREDICTION
- USD TRY PREDICTION
- UNI PREDICTION. UNI cryptocurrency
- USD CHF PREDICTION
- Scary Movie review: Not funny, not scary and about as current as a Carry On film
- In Just 2 Days, Hulu’s New 7-Part R-Rated Comedy Series Is Their #1 Series In The World
- The Witness true story: How was Rachel Nickell’s killer eventually caught?
- 7 Classic Free Animated Shows Hidden Deep on Streaming
2026-06-07 19:44