Ask anyone what their current TV fixation is right now and we’re certain the answer will be Rivals. While the eight part series only launched on Disney+ last week, the show has cemented itself as a fan favourite. And for good reason. Adored for its unapologetic in-your-face nudity and devious plot lines, it’s also bolstered by a star-studded cast including David Tenant, Danny Dyer and Aidan Turner.
Among them is the show’s breakout star Bella Maclean, who portrays Agatha ‘Taggie’ O’Hara, the eldest daughter of Declan O’Hara (Turner) and Maud O’Hara (Victoria Smurfit), who gets caught up in a ‘will they, won’t they’ romance with the charming Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell).
Besides starring in Rivals, Maclean has another hit show under her belt – Netflix’s Sex Education, in which she featured as Jem in season four. As well as this, the actor has starred in Silent Witness, and made her debut to the stage in 2021 as Martha in Spring Awakening.
If the actor’s CV so far is anything to go by, we’re convinced that much more of MacLean is to coming our way in both TV and film.
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Last night, Maclean attended her first ELLE Style Awards (it also marked the first public outing for the actor since Rivals aired) after getting ready at The Londoner Hotel. Ahead of the event, Maclean – who wore a combination of Mejuri jewellery, Balenciaga, TOVE and Izie – talked us through her look, getting ready rituals and filming Rivals.
On her look for the evening
‘I’m wearing a black suit jacket from Balenciaga. It’s amazing and so structured. The trousers, which are quite fitted, are from TOVE. I’m also wearing these gorgeous silver Izie heels. When I saw them, I immediately thought, “I have to wear them”.’
On her jewellery for the evening
‘I’m wearing Mejuri’s gold vermeil chunky medium hoops, which is great as I love gold jewellery.’
On how the look makes you feel
‘Whenever I wear a suit, I feel incredibly confident. I love them, you just can’t go wrong; they’re so chic and timeless and they make you feel so powerful. From the shoulder pads to the cinched in waist, a structured suit can really accentuate all the amazing parts of a woman’s body. Everything’s fitted and you feel like completely put together and you feel so safe in it.’
On her getting ready rituals
‘I always shower as I get into my hotel room, from the moment I walk in. Sometimes I’ll do a face mask. I have a lovely team of people, so that really helps when they’re around. I feel very calm. We talk so much that we don’t listen to music and by the time I go to these events, I’m exhausted. We always have something silly to talk about.’
On self-care
‘It’s just taking time for yourself. Life can get really crazy and that is such an exciting and a fun thing as well, so I like to take time for myself by having a bath, reading a really good book or turning off my phone for an hour and tidying my room and organising my life. Self-care for me also includes going on a long walk and listening to a good podcast. I listen to a lot of Caroline O’Donoghue’s podcast Sentimentalgarbagepod.’
On how her style has evolved with her acting career
‘I experiment a lot more than I used to, and that’s because I have much wider basis of what I know that I like, so I can stray a bit and test it, and I can be feminine or really masculine sometimes. I’m less insecure in trying those things out. So, I’d say that my style now, is more experimental rather than finding one thing that I love. But I will always go back to comfy, cool and chic.’
On what we can expect from Rivals season two
‘We’re really hoping that we get season two. It’s a coming-of-age story for Taggie and I think that they really want to push that in season two and make her stronger and just keep growing into a woman. She’s got this really strong moral compass, and I think they really want to push that even harder, and build her confidence, I think that’s where they want to go.’
On working with Alex Hassell
‘Al and I are best friends, we had the best time filming together, it was really easy. When you spend that much time with each other, you know each other so well. At that point, it’s incredibly non-judgmental. And obviously Al and I constantly got the giggles together, so, we just laughed through any slightly uncomfortable situation. He’s really the best, I was so lucky to be casted with him.’
On her favourite moment from filming Rivals season one
‘A lot of the group scenes were fun, we all got along really well, and I know a lot of people say that, but we really did. We really love each other and we’re all quite naughty. We’re all quite naughty, there was lots of giggles, big personalities during these scenes, it was such a joyous thing.’
Rivals is streaming on Disney+ now.
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