Rewind TV is galloping into February with a double dose of 1990s glamour – two lavish adaptations from bestselling author Jilly Cooper, whose scandalous tales of upper-class British shenanigans have found a whole new audience thanks to Disney+’s recent hit Rivals.
The retro-focused channel is bringing both Riders and The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous to Freeview (and Sky) – the television adaptations that introduced millions of viewers to Cooper’s fictional Rutshire, where showjumpers, socialites, and scheming lotharios compete for glory, wealth, and each other’s spouses.
But the romantic drama is just part of February’s lineup.
The channel is also launching new episodes of Jack Hargreaves’ Old Country, bringing back the sharp newsroom satire Drop the Dead Donkey, and continuing its After Hours strand with another collection of cult films that range from psychological drama to proper exploitation fare.
Where to Find Rewind TV
Since launching on Sky in May 2024 and expanding to Freeview that September, Rewind TV has established itself as the go-to destination for classic British programming that would otherwise remain locked in archives.
You can currently find it on Freeview Channel 81, Sky Channel 182 (satellite only), and Freely Channel 141 (only on the aerial-connected version of Freely).
The channel remains absent from Sky Stream, Sky Glass, and Freesat. Rival channel Talking Pictures TV – which now pulls in around 4 million viewers per month – has successfully expanded across multiple platforms including Freely’s streaming service.
Whether Rewind TV follows suit in 2026 remains to be seen, but given the proven demand for retro programming, the potential is clearly there.
Riders: Where the Rutshire Chronicles Began
Riders arrives February 3 at 9pm, and it’s arguably the most significant of the month’s additions.
Before Disney+ spent millions recreating the scandalous world of 1980s Cotswolds high society in “Rivals”, there was this landmark 1993 adaptation – and it was absolutely massive.
The original broadcast attracted audiences of over 15 million viewers, making it one of the defining drama events of the decade. It was glossy, sexy, and unapologetically excessive in that way only early 90s television could manage.
Marcus Gilbert stars as Rupert Campbell-Black, the devastatingly handsome showjumper whose romantic entanglements drive much of the drama. Michael Praed and Stephanie Beacham round out the cast in this lavish serial adapted from Cooper’s bestselling novel.
The story follows the cutthroat world of international showjumping, where the competition extends well beyond the arena. Rivalries, affairs, and social warfare play out against a backdrop of country estates and championship circuits.
“The excitement around Rivals has reignited interest in Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire world, and Riders is where it all began,” says Rewind TV’s Jonathan Moore. “We’re thrilled to bring these landmark dramas back to viewers.”
The production values are different, certainly – this is pre-prestige TV, made when British drama serials still had that distinctive early 90s sheen.
But the essential ingredients remain: gorgeous settings, beautiful people behaving badly, and Cooper’s keen eye for class dynamics and social hypocrisy.
The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous
The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous follows on February 10 at 9pm, continuing the Rutshire Chronicles with another Cooper adaptation that pulled impressive viewing figures on its original broadcast.
Stephen Billington stars as Lysander Hawkley, a charming yet calculating young man who devises an audacious scheme – he’ll make Rutshire’s neglected wives into headline-makers, ensuring their inattentive husbands sit up and take notice.
Hugh Bonneville appears as Lysander’s friend Ferdie, whilst Rhona Mitra and Kate Buffery complete the cast in this glossy mix of romance, satire, seduction, and social rivalry.
The premise is quintessential Cooper – take a morally questionable idea, populate it with posh people behaving outrageously, and let the chaos unfold.
It’s lighter than Riders in tone, leaning more heavily into the comedy inherent in Cooper’s social satire.
The neglected wives aren’t victims so much as willing participants in Lysander’s schemes, and the husbands who’ve taken them for granted get their comeuppance in suitably dramatic fashion.
Jack Hargreaves’ Old Country
Starting February 2 at 8am and 4.30pm, Rewind TV premieres new episodes of Old Country, celebrating the enduring appeal of Jack Hargreaves.
Airing every weekday, the series continues its gentle, reflective exploration of rural life, traditional crafts, and the changing British countryside.
For those unfamiliar, Hargreaves was a beloved broadcaster who spent decades documenting traditional rural skills and countryside wisdom.
Old Country is warm, thoughtful, and deeply nostalgic. It’s a treasured portrait of a slower, more considered way of life, capturing crafts and knowledge that were already disappearing when the programmes were made.
Drop the Dead Donkey
Drop the Dead Donkey returns February 2 at 10pm, bringing back one of the most innovative sitcoms in British television history.
Set behind the scenes of a fictional television news programme, the series stars Haydn Gwynne, Jeff Rawle, Stephen Tompkinson, and Neil Pearson as the journalists, producers, and executives navigating the chaotic world of broadcast news.
What made Drop the Dead Donkey groundbreaking was its production method – episodes were recorded close to transmission to reflect real-world events.
The writing team would incorporate actual news stories into scripts at the last possible moment, giving the show an immediacy that most sitcoms couldn’t match.
The satire was sharp and fearless, skewering journalistic ethics, corporate priorities, and the absurdities of news production with equal enthusiasm.
The fictional GlobeLink News became a perfect vehicle for commentary on how news was gathered, packaged, and presented.
The series ran from 1990 to 1998, spanning two general elections, the Gulf War, and countless other news events that got woven into storylines.
Watching it now offers a fascinating snapshot of that era’s media landscape – before 24-hour news cycles, before social media, when three terrestrial news programmes still dominated evening viewing.
After Hours: From Dennis Potter to Exploitation Cinema
Rewind TV’s After Hours strand continues into February with another eclectic collection of cult and genre cinema spanning the 1970s through to the early 1990s.
The selection includes Evil Come Evil Go (1970), a dark revenge thriller, and Massage Parlour Massacre (1976), a cult horror title blending mystery and suspense in that distinctively seedy mid-70s style.
Action arrives via Mission Killfast (1991), whilst Pets (1973) reflects the more provocative side of 1970s independent filmmaking – the sort of title that trades on transgression and discomfort rather than conventional thrills.
The standout inclusion is Brimstone and Treacle (1982), the powerful psychological drama adapted from Dennis Potter’s play.
Sting stars in this deeply unsettling story about a mysterious young man who insinuates himself into the lives of a couple caring for their severely disabled daughter.
Potter’s work was always confrontational and morally complex, and Brimstone and Treacle might be his most challenging piece.
The BBC originally commissioned it for television in 1976 but refused to broadcast it, deeming the content too disturbing. It eventually reached screens as a feature film in 1982, with Sting in the central role originally written for television.
Emmanuelle in Soho (1981) completes the lineup, following a young woman wandering London’s Soho district through a series of intimate encounters.
It’s very much of its era – the early 80s moment when softcore European films were getting British distribution, trading on the Emmanuelle brand whilst having little connection to the original French films.
As always with Rewind TV’s After Hours content, expect very late-night slots with appropriate warnings. Specific broadcast times haven’t been announced yet, but these aren’t films you’ll stumble across during afternoon viewing.
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