Entertainment · TV & Streaming · 2 hrs ago
Emily Atack says Rivals role brought her back to acting
Emily Atack says Rivals changed her life and helped her return to the acting work she has long wanted to do.
She plays Sarah Stratton in the Disney+ drama, set in the 1980s Cotswolds and the competitive world of British television.
Atack first became widely known as Charlotte in The Inbetweeners, then worked in comedy, reality television and presenting.
After being typecast, she found returning to acting difficult, she said, so feeling welcomed in the role has meant a lot to her.
Rivals is based on novels by Jilly Cooper and features actors including David Tennant, Danny Dyer and Aidan Turner.
More season two episodes begin November 11, with a three-episode premiere on Disney+ in the UK and internationally, and on Hulu in the US.
Emily Atack says her role in the Disney+ series Rivals has brought her back to acting.
She described the role as a major turning point in her nearly two-decade career.
Atack said she had wanted to return to acting, where she began and where she felt her heart belonged.
In Rivals, she plays Sarah Stratton in a drama set in the 1980s Cotswolds.
The series is due to return with three episodes on November 11.
- Who
- Emily Atack, an actor who plays Sarah Stratton in Rivals.
- What
- She says the role brought her back to acting and changed her life.
- When
- She discussed the role in an interview published on November 6, 2026.
- Where
- Rivals is set in the 1980s Cotswolds. The series streams on Disney+ in the UK and internationally.
- Why
- Atack says acting is where her heart has always been, and she felt welcomed back to it.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Atack achieved widespread fame as Charlotte “Big Jugs” Hinchcliffe in The Inbetweeners.
Rivals launched.
The Independent published Atack’s comments about her role in Rivals.
Rivals is due to return with a three-episode premiere of its second series installment.
- Role
- Sarah Stratton in Rivals
- Series platform
- Disney+
- Setting
- 1980s Cotswolds
- First acting role
- Blue Murder, at age 16
- The Inbetweeners
- Atack became widely known in the series in 2008
- Return date
- November 11
What people are saying
It’s completely changed my life. I don’t even know how to describe it.
I’ve worked in television for a long time, but what I’ve always wanted to do was come back to acting. That’s where I started, and that’s where my heart has always been.
So to feel so embraced and welcomed back into acting has meant an enormous amount to me.