Good news, ladies…Poldark will smoulder again in second series
AS the final episodes of Poldark approach, men across the nation have longed for respite from the hysteria over heartthrob Aidan Turner.
But the bad news – for them, at least – is that any well- earned break won’t last for long.
TV chiefs yesterday announced the Cornwall-set drama will be coming back for eight more episodes after it helped BBC1 deliver its strongest start to a year for a decade.
BBC1 boss Charlotte Moore confirmed that Turner’s broody Ross would return for another series, alongside actress Eleanor Tomlinson, who plays love interest – and now wife – Demelza.
‘I can exclusively announce that Sunday night’s new phenomenon Poldark that has captured the nation’s hearts has been commissioned for a second series,’ Mrs Moore said, adding that the series had helped BBC1 to an ‘outstanding start’ this year.
About 8.1million people on average have watched each episode, helping the flagship BBC channel attract more than a quarter of television viewers in evenings, when the battle for attention is most competitive.
The series, based on Winston Graham’s novels, follows Ross Poldark after he returns from the American War of Independence only to find that his father has died and his former fiancée, Elizabeth, has married another man.
There are 12 Poldark books in total, seven of which are set in the 18th century. The other five then follow Poldark’s children through the 19th century.
The first series of Poldark, written by Debbie Horsfield, covers the first of Mr Graham’s two novels, named after Ross Poldark and Demelza.
The second series will move on to the third and fourth books, named after their child, Jeremy, and scheming banker George Warleggan.
Women up and down the country watched on tenterhooks as Poldark’s affections shifted to his kitchen maid Demelza.
But it is the scenes featuring Turner in a state of undress which sent them into the biggest frenzy.
Many have taken to Twitter to express their approval whenever he appears without his shirt – working with a scythe in the fields or swimming naked in the sea. ‘If Poldark gets any hotter we’ll have to call the fire brigade,’ one viewer commented.
The current show, with the sixth episode of eight this weekend, has not reached the popularity of the 1970s adaptation, which brought in 15million viewers.