To the swoons of women around the country, the one and only Rupert Campbell-Black has finally sashayed onto our screens in the adaptation of Jilly Cooper's Rivals for Disney+.
The man, the myth, the legend who rejoices in the full name of Rupert Edward Algernon Campbell-Black has been immortalised on our screens by Alex Hassell.
Hassell told Digital Spy in an exclusive interview ahead of the show's release that he found taking on the sexed-up mantle of Mr Campbell-Black a "nerve-wracking" prospect.
He went on to say he was comforted by Cooper herself, telling us: "She was immediately very supportive, which was extremely helpful.
"I did feel a certain amount of [pressure] playing a character that she particularly cares about over the arc of all the books, and having her seal of approval was really important to me. But she's been effusive and very excited about the show, so that's very useful."
Campbell-Black is the Sports Minister for Margaret Thatcher's government, but also moonlights as a Rutshire man-about-town, who spends days bedding women, playing naked tennis and pursuing various animals on horseback.
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As realistic as he might seem, Campbell-Black is a work of fiction, dreamt up by Cooper for her novel Riders, where he's portrayed chasing Olympic showjumping gold.
In the follow-up novel Rivals, he's retired from the world of sport and has entered the equally competitive and cutthroat political arena.
Yet RCB nearly wasn't part of the Rivals world at all, as Cooper has said she wasn't going to include him in the line-up for her second novel in the Rutshire Chronicles.
"Originally, I intended to leave out Rupert, my hellraising hero, because in Riders he was cruel both to women and his horses," Cooper told MailOnline. "But I missed his glamour and humour."
Cooper then wrote him back in as a lead of the novel, cementing his lusty place in the hearts of many readers.
Cooper has said that while RCB is a product of her imagination, she did have some help from real-life friends of hers to create the character on the page. She credits three men as her Campbell-Black muses: Queen Camilla's ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles, the 11th Duke of Beaufort David Somerset and the late 21st Earl of Suffolk 'Mickey' Suffolk.
"They were a wildly dashing and exciting group," Cooper previously told The Telegraph in 2002. "Their bravery and charisma were the essential elements of Rupert’s character."
There have also been other names who have cropped up over the years as inspirations too, including the London tailor and fashion designer Rupert Lycett Green.
Cooper has caveated all of this by saying: "This was because of their charm and glamour, not for any of Rupert’s naughty behaviour!"
She even told MailOnline that she gathered Hassell and a couple of her Campbell-Black inspirations to one of her infamous countryside parties to raise a glass of bubbly to the new show.
Rivals is available to stream on Disney+ from October 18.
Previously Deputy TV Editor at Digital Spy and, before that, a TV Reporter at The Mirror, Rebecca can now be found crafting expert analysis of the TV landscape, when she's not talking on the BBC or Times Radio about everything from the latest season of Bridgerton or The White Lotus to whatever chaos is unfolding in the various Love Island villas. When she's not bingeing a boxset, in-the-wild sightings of Rebecca have included stints on the National TV Awards and BAFTAs red carpets, and post-match video explainers of the reality TV we're all watching.
