David Tennant credits his wife for his new raunchy role

David Tennant has credited his wife for encouraging him to take on a role in a raunchy new show.

The 53-year-old actor has been married to actress and producer Georgia Tennant, 39, since 2011.

And it seems her love for Jilly Cooper novels as a teenager led the former Doctor Who star to say yes to playing Lord Tony Baddingham in upcoming Disney+ show Rivals.

Explaining how his wife encouraged him to take on the role, the actor told The Mirror, "She said, 'This series is going to be huge. This is going to be exactly what the country needs.'

"She knew the books from her teenage years, as I understand, and knew that this was going to make sensational television."

After Georgia watched an advanced screening of the eight-part series, David received encouragement from his wife.

He said, "Her reaction was so positive and so joyous. I know when she's being genuine."

The upcoming adaptation of erotic fiction author Cooper's 1988 novel may not be as sex-filled as some TV fans might expect.

Cooper served as an executive producer on the show, and admitted that she stepped in to scale back some of the raunchy scenes.

She told the BBC, "I did occasionally say, 'No, I don't think they should be jumping on each other quite so early in the story' and things like that."

The series is due for release on 18 October.