Poldark is not a rapist
Author’s son backs BBC sex-scene take
THE son of Poldark novelist Winston Graham has backed the BBC’s decision to axe a “rape” scene from the new series.
Actor Aidan Turner, 33, recently told how a controversial sex scene between his character Ross Poldark and ex-love Elizabeth will appear consensual, rather than an act of rage.
Purists claimed it was sanitising the author’s intention to show Poldark as a deeply flawed character with control issues.
But Andrew Graham said the TV version – in which Elizabeth relents and agrees to have sex with the man she once vowed to marry – is the correct interpretation of his dad’s 1950s plot.
He said: “In the novel Warleggan, the point of departure for the relevant scene is indeed consistent with the potential for rape. But what happens then is left entirely to one’s imagination. The only way to judge what my father intended is to read the novels as a whole.
“It becomes clear from earlier scenes – as well as Elizabeth’s reactions and later mixed emotions – that what happened was consensual sex borne of long-term love and longing.”
In the book, Poldark breaks into Elizabeth’s house to urge her not to marry his arch enemy George Warleggan. When she refuses and accuses him of treating her “like a slut”, he says, “It’s time you were so treated” and carries her to the bedroom against her will. Writer Debbie Horsfield, who has adapted Winston’s novels for the BBC One series, said hints of a potential rape would remain in the show as it is “not as straightforward as it sounds”. Aidan said of the scene: “It seems consensual. He goes to talk; he doesn’t go to commit a crime. They talk and it seems like there is still this spark between them, this unfinished business emotionally.” The second series of Poldark, which stars Icelandic actress Heida Reed as Elizabeth, begins on September 4.
Eleanor Tomlinson is not keen on a ratings battle between the second series of BBC’s Poldark and ITV’s big-budget Victoria, after it emerged the two shows will go head to head.
“I’m worried about it,” said Eleanor, 24, who plays Demelza, the wife of Aidan Turner’s Ross Poldark, adding: “I’m fiercely competitive.”
Victoria hits screens this Sunday and the two dramas will go up against each other on Sunday, September 4.