Poldark reunion is worth the wait

IF viewers want to see Poldark and Demelza fully back together in the new series, star Aidan Turner says reunion scenes were welcomed by him, too.

Ross is pursuing political matters in London far from his usual Cornish patch, keeping the pair apart, but getting together with pal Eleanor Tomlinson was always good news.

“They are usually together so often and during filming there were huge gaps where Eleanor and I didn’t see each other so it felt like it played out for real,” says Aidan.

“When we did get back together, when Ross invites Demelza to London and they spend a week together, it was lovely to reunite.

“It was nice for Ross to have fun again with Demelza, and to find that love again was important because that had been lost for quite a while.”

While the Poldarks determine to get their marriage on track this week, next week sees Ross make his maiden speech in parliament.

“I have always found the political history of this period interesting, especially finding out about the Prime Minister, William Pitt, and William Wilberforce (leader of the movement to stop the slave trade) and what they campaigned for,” reveals Aidan.

“It’s hard to believe there were so many people who were opposed to it all and who were trying to shut these conversations down.

“As an actor, getting to make speeches about important matters like these, in this setting, fills you with a sense of empowerment.

“You get an idea of what it would have been like at the time. “It is surreal to be up there talking about backing Wilberforce in his bill to abolish slavery. It makes you realise that this all happened only a little over 200 years ago and that is really only a small blip in the scale of time.” Poldark, BBC1, tonight, 9pm.