Claire Rushbrook Calls Her Rivals Exit ‘Gutting and Glorious’ After Monica’s Death

Claire Rushbrook has described the conflicting emotions she felt after learning that her Rivals character, Lady Monica Baddingham, would be killed off. Speaking to Radio Times, the actress said the news caught her by surprise during what she had thought was simply a champagne lunch. “I thought it was just a lovely champagne lunch. Then they walloped me round the head with it,” Rushbrook recalled. Looking back on Monica’s departure, she said she feels both immense pride in the scenes she was given to play and sadness at the character’s fate. She called the experience “gutting and glorious,” while also noting the strong reaction from viewers. Monica’s story ended in the mid-season finale after she decided she could no longer remain with her husband, Tony, played by David Tennant. The character had reached that decision after his infidelity, deception and manipulation, and told him she wanted a divorce. After the confrontation, Monica drove Declan O’Hara’s daughter home during a storm. A tree appeared to fall onto their car, and the episode later revealed Monica had died. Rupert Campbell Black, played by Alex Hassell, delivered the news to Tony, bringing the episode to a tragic close. The report says a teaser for the second half of the show’s second season has since offered a glimpse of what comes next. In the preview, characters appear gathered at a funeral as Taggie O’Hara’s voice says, “Everything’s falling apart.” The character’s death also prompted an emotional response from viewers online, with fans expressing shock and sadness. One commenter questioned why Monica had been killed off, while another said she deserved the world. Some viewers even floated a hopeful alternative, imagining she might have staged her disappearance, though the report notes that this was speculation.