MyPoldark coffeebreak
Why period drama star reckons her job in cafe might have helped win her big role in hit show
certain qualities and Drake has certain qualities. They are like a jigsaw puzzle, they just kind of fit. “I think Drake pulls out certain qualities in Morwenna that she didn’t realise she had and vice versa. “So I think it’s just a sweet, lovely relationship.” Ellise’s parents are huge fans of the show, so they were ecstatic to hear she was joining the cast. She said: “My mum just hysterically laughed for about five minutes. She couldn’t believe it. She was like, ‘Oh my god’. That’s all she really said and was so over the moon, as was my dad.” Ellise doesn’t deny she felt “quite nervous” at the thought of joining an established cast such as Poldark’s “but everyone was so wonderful”. She added: “It’s a cliched thing to say but I really did feel so welcome straight away and everyone was just brilliant and relaxed.” The Cornish setting wasn’t too drab either. “It was beautiful,” she recalled. “We all hung out most evenings. We would make dinner together and we played a lot of board games, specifically Bananagrams. Although I never won a single game.
“There were so many pinch-me moments when it would be gorgeous weather, a beautiful breeze and you would just be sat like, ‘Woah, this is my Monday’. It was so amazing.”
Chappell is in fact halfCornish thanks to her dad.
She said: “It was incredible. I mentioned some locations we were filming on and he told me he had ridden horses on those exact beaches as a young boy.
She also confesses that it’s something of “a childhood dream” to appear in a period drama and so couldn’t complain too much at finally getting to wear a corset.
Chappell said: “It’s really fun. Obviously, getting used to it was one thing. It does really help pulling you into the idea of being in that society, the way you have to hold yourself. We are lucky in the sense that we have some elastic to help with our breathing in the corset. “Peppermint tea I’ve discovered after lunch helps with digestion and I just tend to eat fish and vegetables [on set], which are lighter.” Ellise only has two other professional acting credits to her name so far – New Blood, alongside Anna Chancellor, and The Last Dragonslayer, opposite Matt Berry. “Poldark’s a massive contrast. I’m so lucky to have got these very different roles in one year – and very grateful,” said Ellise. Series four begins shooting this autumn but apart from that, she’s unsure what the future holds. She said: “It’s really scary but also part of the excitement. I’m just thinking what amazing opportunities these are.” Poldark continues on BBC1 on Sunday, 9pm.
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