Adapting a racy pre-#MeToo novel in this post-#MeToo world is a big ask, so it’s little wonder that the makers of Rivals appear torn as to whether they ought to be celebrating or satirising its depiction of 80s excess. The problem is that the series feels obligated to be as smitten with bounder Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) as his creator Jilly Cooper clearly is. And so, despite him being a lupine, lascivious figure with permanently thrusting buttocks, his actions are perceived, in the main, as being playful.

Rather, what we see is emancipation through male objectification, as the well-to-do women of Rutshire swoon in Campbell-Black’s presence, while also being under no illusions as to his morals. Any real scorn, meanwhile, is saved for TV mogul Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant), who lacks the charm his adversary so readily possesses.

It’s a dynamic that occasionally has the air of a JR/Cliff showdown from Dallas (a show that’s openly name-checked). But with its focus on Brits in business and the bedroom, this is more like a glossier Howards’ Way with raging libidos.

David Brown