Poldark and Victoria: may battle begin
Second series of BBC’s Cornish hit poised to clash with new ITV royal drama in high-stakes tussle
ONE stars a scythe-wielding topless hunk, the other a former Doctor Who assistant; now the two are going head-to-head in the latest Sunday night battle of the blockbusters.
The BBC is pitting the latest series of Poldark, the hit Cornish drama starring Aidan Turner, against ITV’s
Victoria, featuring Jenna Coleman as the young queen.
It is anticipated that the two dramas will be up against each other when
Poldark begins its second series at 9pm on Sept 4.
ITV is considering running Victoria, an ambitious eight-part drama about the long-serving monarch that has been billed as a replacement for
Downton Abbey, in the same Sunday night slot. It would mean a clash of high stakes for both broadcasters. In an added twist, both Poldark and
Victoria are made by independent producers Mammoth Screen, the outfit that was also behind the BBC adaptations of Parade’s End and And Then There Were None.
It is understood that Damien Timmer, head of the production company, has appealed to both broadcasters to try to avoid the shows overlapping, but his pleas have so far fallen on deaf ears.
Coleman, who has previously appeared as the doctor’s assistant in
Doctor Who, will play the 18-year-old Queen Victoria. The series covers the period in the run-up to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert, played by Tom Hughes.
Rufus Sewell will play Lord Melbourne, the prime minister who acted as a mentor to the young queen.
Poldark, based on Winston Graham’s Cornish novels, was the breakout hit of last year, and propelled Aidan Turner, who plays the troubled protagonist, Ross Poldark, to international stardom.
A small group of MPs and journalists were allowed to watch the first episode of the new series last week, on condition they did not reveal any details until the last week of August. While Debbie Horsfield, the writer charged with adapting Graham’s novels for the screen, has warned that Turner will not undertake any topless scything in the new series, fans of the actor’s washboard stomach are unlikely to be disappointed. The commercial network is likely to come off worse in the event of a clash, as it would be launching an unknown show against a BBC ratings juggernaut that pulled in more than 9.5 million viewers at one stage during its first series. When high-profile dramas clash, viewers tend to record ITV programmes, then skip through the commercial breaks, costing the company precious advertising revenue. ITV’s Downton Abbey frequently pulled in more than 10 million viewers, and finding a drama to repeat its success is a priority for Kevin Lygo, the channel’s new programming boss.
Earlier this year, in what was billed as the most expensive hour of drama ever on television, the BBC’s adaptation of John Le Carre’s The Night Manager went head-to-head with
ITV’s Doctor Thorne and Channel 4’s Indian Summers, all on the same night. ITV is hoping for a renaissance in its drama department after poaching from the BBC Polly Hill, who commissioned hits such as Poldark,
Happy Valley and Line of Duty, in a move said to have netted her a salary greater than the £450,000 paid to Lord Hall, the BBC director-general.
The commercial channel will also unveil the keenly anticipated comeback of Cold Feet this autumn.
ITV said it had yet to announce the launch date for Victoria.