Inside Rivals star Katherine Parkinson's life including famous husband and 'biggest regret'

Katherine Parkinson, a familiar face on British television with roles in The IT Crowd, Doc Martin and Humans, is set to earn further praise for her part in the new Disney Plus series, Rivals, premiering tomorrow.

The risque new series, based on the best-selling novels by renowned British author Jilly Cooper, features a stellar cast including David Tennant, Danny Dyer and Aiden Turner, reports .

At 46, Katherine is poised to captivate audiences worldwide with her latest performance alongside icon Danny. But what about her life away from the camera?

As we anticipate the debut of the new series, let's delve into the life of the actress famed for portraying Pauline Lamb and Jen Barber.

Katherine boasts an impressive academic background, having studied at Oxford University before attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

She bagged the British Comedy Best TV Actress Award in 2009 and 2014 for her role as Jen Barber in Channel 4's The IT Crowd and was twice nominated for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance, clinching the award in 2014.

She has also graced the stage in several high-profile plays, including 2007's The Seagull and 2018's Home, I'm Darling, earning a nomination for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play.

The actress, who is wed to Toast of London star Harry Peacock and shared the screen with him in the 2015 sitcom The Kennedys, is a proud mum to two girls, Dora and Gwendolyn.

In a heartfelt chat with the back in 2020, Katherine laid bare her off-screen life, spilling on her deepest fears, ambitions, and regrets.

When quizzed about her top fear, she confessed to being "pathetically scared of ", which surely made her role in Rivals opposite dog-enthusiast Rupert Campbell-Black, played by Alex Hassell, quite the challenge.

Katherine didn't shy away from discussing her most significant physical insecurity either, revealing: "My broken nose. I was assaulted in my 20s, and my nose is a constant reminder."

She even let slip that as a youngster, she dreamt of space exploration, aiming for the stars as an astronaut, but that's not the only career tidbit that might raise eyebrows.

The star expressed her "biggest disappointment" in not making the cut for MI5, a revelation bound to stun her admirers.

Delving into her past during the interview, she was asked about her greatest regret, to which she responded with a nod to her health, saying: "I wish I hadn't been a heavy smoker for so many years."

Aside from the four actors mentioned above, Rivals also stars: Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams, Bella Maclean, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit, Lisa McGrillis, , Luke Pasqualino, Catriona Chandler, Gabriel Tierney, Gary Lamont and Lara Peake.

The synopsis for the forthcoming drama series reads: "Set in England 1986, Rivals is an adaptation of Jilly Cooper's second book in the Rutshire Chronicles that follows Rupert Campbell-Black, a notorious rake and famous showjumper before he quit for a career in politics, as he joins forces with his new neighbour Declan O'Hara to overthrow local unscrupulous television magnate Lord Tony Baddingham by bidding for his Cotswolds based independent television franchise.

"But Rupert and Declan's plans are disrupted by a blossoming romance between the famously womanising Rupert and Declan's innocent daughter Taggie O'Hara, a love triangle between Rupert, Tony and his right-hand woman, the brilliant American producer Cameron Cook and Declan's stormy relationship with his wife the dazzling actress Maud.

"In the backstabbing of television where it is every man and woman for themselves, can 'true' love really blossom?"

Rivals premieres this Friday, October 18, exclusively on Disney+.