Poldark’s Elizabeth: I am attracted to Aidan
ON SCREEN, she is the woman who first claimed Ross Poldark’s heart.
And off screen, Heida Reed – who plays Elizabeth in the blockbuster BBC bodice-ripper – confesses that, like many women, she has fallen for co-star Aidan Turner, whose dark, brooding good looks and honed body have made him an irresistible sex symbol.
Asked if she feels drawn to Turner, Icelandic-born Ms Reed, 28, says: ‘Who doesn’t? Of course I do.
‘I think a part of you is always attracted to the person your character is attracted to – that’s a part of my acting process.’
It will perhaps be an unnerving revelation for her boyfriend, American film producer Sam Ritzenberg, 30.
Ms Reed says she became firm friends with 33-year-old Irishman Turner and the other Poldark actors while filming the series in Cornwall.
In an exclusive interview in today’s Mail on Sunday You magazine ahead of the hotly awaited second series, starting on BBC1 next month, Ms Reed reveals tantalising details of the story, in which Elizabeth still hankers after Poldark, long after he has married her love rival, his maid Demelza, played by Eleanor Tomlinson.
She says: ‘Elizabeth always needs to feel like she has a special place in Ross’s heart.
‘When she believes that is not the case, she starts working towards that, and he always responds. We get to see a more manipulative side to her.’ As to whether there will be a repeat of the famous scene in which a shirtless Turner displays his torso in a cornfield, she revealed: ‘Well, there is some scything, but it is not Ross.
‘It’s nice to be in a show that has an iconic moment. But I hope people enjoy it for more than a topless scene. I think the British public wanted a Mr Darcy moment – there hasn’t been anything like Colin Firth coming out of the lake for a while.
‘[Aidan] looks great. I understand the popularity.’ Her only gripe about the series is having to wear a corset, saying: ‘I hate it – it’s so tight and I can only eat soup and smoothies when I’m wearing it.’
Ms Reed is spending the summer with Mr Ritzenberg on a road trip around California. Speaking about their relationship, she says: ‘It’s new, just a few months, and we are at a really fun stage. It’s lovely.’