Victoria Smurfit and Luke Pasqualino joined friends, family and fellow Rivals cast members at Cheltenham Racecourse to unveil a memorial bench honouring Jilly Cooper
The novelist’s love of racing was celebrated with a toast and the Jilly Cooper Veterans’ Handicap Chase, won by Thunder Rock
Producer Felicity Blunt said the occasion felt like a wonderfully riotous day in Cooper’s spirit, while Hugh Bonneville praised her warm, mischievous writing and enduring affection for horses
The bench now stands on the Crescent Walkway.