If Rivals wasn’t your standout show of 2024, so be it. It takes all sorts. But if it was, you’ll be in no doubt which was the truest, purest love story. Lizzie Vereker – the self-effacing erotica author, bullied by her husband – is supposed to be plain in the original text, but is played by the luminous Katherine Parkinson. Freddie – the rich but never greedy entrepreneur, bullied by his wife – is meant to be past his best, but is played with low-key, knowing magnetism by Danny Dyer. They are absolute dynamite together as they fall in love: