''Riders'', also called ''Jilly Cooper's Riders'', is a 1993 British
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
based on
Jilly Cooper
Dame Jilly Cooper, (born Jill Sallitt; 21 February 1937) is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. Cooper is ...
's 1985
book of the same name in the
Rutshire Chronicles
The Rutshire Chronicles is a series of romantic novels by Jilly Cooper. Set in the fictional county of Rutshire, characters recur across the series repeatedly, including the upper-class MP Rupert Campbell-Black. The first book in the series was p ...
series.
With a length of 199 minutes, broadcasters usually divide the production into a
miniseries
In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
.
Outline
Rupert Campbell-Black
Rupert Campbell-Black is a fictional character in the Rutshire Chronicles series of Romance novel, romance novels written by Jilly Cooper. He also appears in the film and television adaptations of Riders (1993 film), Riders and Rivals (TV series), ...
(played by
Marcus Gilbert) is a rich and
upper class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...
Englishman at the top of the world of international
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...
, while his arch-rival Jake Lovell (
Michael Praed
Michael Praed ( ; born 1 April 1960), birth name Michael David Prince, is a British actor and narrator, best remembered for his role as Robin of Loxley in the British television series '' Robin of Sherwood'', which attained cult status worldw ...
) is a man of humble gipsy origins now funded by his
Sloane Ranger heiress wife Tory (
Caroline Harker). Lovell is driven by an intense hatred of Campbell-Black, who had bullied him mercilessly as a small boy at their
English prep school, and their fights over riding prizes and women reach a climax at the
Los Angeles Olympics.
Cast
Production
Anglia bought the film rights to the best-selling book and hired
Charlotte Bingham
The Hon. Charlotte Bingham (born 29 June 1942) is an English novelist who has written over 30 mainly historical romance novels and has also written for many television programmes including '' Upstairs, Downstairs''; ''Play for Today''; and '' ...
and her husband
Terence Brady to produce a script, giving the job of director to
Gabrielle Beaumont. Some sequences were filmed at
Heydon, Norfolk.
This was the screen debut of
Sienna Guillory, only sixteen at the time, chosen largely because her part called for a young actress who could ride.
Reception
The film had an intense build-up as "a sex sizzler" in the weeks before its first broadcast on the
ITV network
ITV, legally known as Channel 3, is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It is branded as ITV1 in most of the UK except for central and northern Scotland, where it is b ...
on 2 May 1993, but some critics found it absurd. Writing in ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'',
Allison Pearson said: "Jilly Cooper's Riders (ITV), allegedly about mounting excitement, came with palpitating publicity. But it was all
sound and furry animals, dignifying nothing." She continued by mocking
Anthony Calf
Anthony Calf (born 4 May 1959) is an English actor. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He had recurring roles in the television medical drama ''Holby City'', as Michael Beauchamp, and ''New Tricks'' as D ...
's portrayal of Billy Lloyd-Foxe: "I was trying to place Calf's acting style (do horses give you lockjaw?) when he turned up in the
Gold Blend advert. All that rich, roasted alliteration is enough to drive anyone to suicide, which he wisely attempted in part two, only to have Rupert revive him ('England needs you, Billy').
[Allison Pearson]
TELEVISION / Sex, beasts and Jilly Cooper
dated 8 May 1993 in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' online, accessed 18 January 2018
The strapline used on the present-day DVD cover, "Sex and horses: who could ask for more?" is indeed from ''
The Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Tele ...
'', but was a comment on the book ''Riders'' in 1985, and not on the film.
[Rowan Pelling]
On its 30th anniversary, why Riders is the best erotic fiction of all time
dated 7 March 2015 at telegraph.co.uk, accessed 20 January 2018
Aftermath

In 2002, Jilly Cooper revealed that Rupert Campbell-Black was a composite of
Andrew Parker Bowles
Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier Andrew Henry Parker Bowles (born 27 December 1939) is a retired British Army officer. He is the former husband of Queen Camilla, who is now the wife of King Charles III.
Early life and family
Andrew Parker ...
,
Rupert Lycett Green,
Michael Howard, 21st Earl of Suffolk, and the
11th Duke of Beaufort, commenting on their place in the development of Campbell-Black: "a wildly dashing and exciting group, and their bravery and charisma were the essential elements... his shittiness was entirely my invention".
[
Rowan Pelling has suggested in ''The Daily Telegraph'' that the outrageous Fleet Street columnist Janey Lloyd-Foxe is based on Jilly Cooper herself and the young ]Camilla Parker-Bowles
Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III.
Camilla was raised in East ...
.[
]
See also
*1993 in British television
This is a list of British television related events from 1993. Events January
*1 January
**Carlton Television takes over the weekday ITV franchise in London at midnight, replacing Thames after 24 years on the air. ITV Meridian, Meridian takes ov ...
*'' The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous''
Notes
External links
*
Riders
on YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riders (1993 film)
1993 British television series debuts
1993 British television series endings
1990s British drama television series
British television films
ITV television dramas
1990s British television miniseries
British English-language television shows
Television series by ITV Studios
Television shows produced by Anglia Television
Television shows based on British novels
Television shows set in Berkshire
Films directed by Gabrielle Beaumont
1990s English-language films