How Rufus Sewell is trouncing Poldark – by keeping his kit ON
FEMAIL MAGAZINE
WOMEN are called on to make many tough choices during their lives: Marriage or the single life? Family or career? Face or figure?
Then, last Sunday, we were forced to make another torturous decision: dark, dangerous, hairy and sweaty; or charming, erudite, cultured and polite? I am, of course, talking about Ross Poldark versus Lord Melbourne.
Until recently, the thought of another dose of Aidan Turner as the stormy Poldark on BBC1 was enough to have me cancelling Sunday night plans and block-booking a pizza delivery for the next eight weeks.
But that was before Rufus Sewell, as Melbourne, entered my living room — and fantasies — in ITV drama Victoria.
Now, for all I care, Poldark and his rusty scythe can take a running jump into his tin mine. In the battle between bad boy and gentleman, there can only be one winner.
And it seems I’m not alone. Last weekend more people tuned in to see Sewell looking manly, yet thoughtful, in his velvet frock coat and top hat than they did to see Turner being gruff and grumpy in his ruffled shirt and tricorn hat. Victoria pulled in 5.2 million viewers compared with Poldark’s 5.1 million.
Having already experienced two episodes of the irresistible Sewell, 48, playing a tortured toff with a twinkle in his eye, there was no way he was being binned for the beefcake with a bad attitude on the other side.
When it comes to film and television, muscle-bound hunks are two-a-penny. But dashing, well-mannered ones are a rarer breed, and all the more likely to set a lady’s heart a-fluttering.
Better yet, after years of every hunk immediately stripping down to their pants in a bid for ratings — from Poldark’s topless scything to Tom Hiddleston’s bottom in The Night Manager — it’s refreshing to return to old-fashioned, bedroom-doorclosed masculinity, where the real appeal is in what’s left unseen.
On paper, Poldark should be the victor in the battle for the Sunday night sex symbol slot. He is younger; he has the body of a Greek God; he has long, wild hair and is prone to grabbing his wife and kissing her passionately.
But he is also brutish and sexist and talks to his lovely wife Demelza in the same tone that he speaks to his pet dog. If Ross and Demelza had a row he would storm off to the tavern, get drunk, have a fight and flirt with a wench.
CONTRASTthat with Melbourne, who is chivalrous but never patronising, kindly but never wet and far more likely to sit down and write a love poem to heal a rift. The closest we got to seeing flesh was when he undid the top button of his shirt at the end of the day.
What he has is power and presence coupled with perfect manners, a soothing tone, and the steadying hand of experience.
Much has been made of the onscreen chemistry between Jenna Coleman, who plays young Victoria, and the hauntingly handsome Sewell. Lucky Jenna got to spend hours gazing into his catlike green eyes and marvelling at those cheekbones, so razor-sharp she could crack walnuts on them.
Lord M (as Victoria affectionately calls him) was on horseback and wearing breeches and riding boots when he arrived for his first audience with Victoria. A leading man in a saddle is catnip to female audiences — and I was hooked.
Poldark is also a horseman but he rides dangerously, like the wind. Melbourne rides slowly with grace and poise. In the first episode virginal Victoria is warned that Lord Melbourne is ‘known for stealing hearts’ and every woman watching at home must have been thinking: ‘Cor. What I wouldn’t give for mine to be one of them.’
The series opener of Poldark showed him facing charges of ‘ wrecking, inciting a riot and murder’. The only time he allowed Demelza out of the house was to take her to his ex- girlfriend’s home — and, even then, he stormed out in a huff after five minutes. How tiresome.
Any woman who has ever dated, lived with or been married to a moody man will know the short temper and sulking quickly goes from ‘sexy’ to ‘irritating’.
But Melbourne is a hopeless romantic. As he told Victoria: ‘I am a rook. I mate for life.’ He also declared that every lady deserved to be ‘loved, honoured and cherished’. Music to any woman’s ears.
Writer Daisy Goodwin has Victoria falling hopelessly in love with Melbourne. When Victoria — speaking ‘as a woman’ — declared her affection for him in the third episode, she was speaking for all women. He rejected her offer — adding ‘ forbidden fruit’ to his charms
Historians insist that in real life such a relationship never happened and that Victoria saw Melbourne only as a father figure.
However, the monarch’s relationship with her Prime Minister was close enough for gossips to refer to her as ‘Mrs Melbourne’.
The real Lord Melbourne was, apparently, a bit of a dirty Bertie — an Eton-educated aristocrat with a penchant for spanking and for other ministers’ wives.
But that is largely glossed over in the TV drama, where Sewell portrays Melbourne as a tormented soul, still deeply in love with his late wife Lady Caroline Lamb, even though she had scandalised their marriage by having an affair with Lord Byron.
As for Prince Albert, played by Tom Hughes — of whom we will see much more this weekend — what a poor second best. Yes, he’s young and good looking, but he is also spoilt, boorish and arrogant.
A liberal amount of artistic licence, probably with American audiences in mind, has been employed for this production
I highly doubt, as we witnessed in episode one, that the Queen got trollied at her Coronation Ball and had a screaming match. But who cares? Because we could witness Lord M being chivalrous, commanding and caring.
He advised her to stop knocking back the champers and gallantly intervened when a roguish Russian prince was trying to grope her on the dancefloor.
THEscene stopped just short of Victoria being shown throwing up, but if she had then Lord M would be the type to hold back her hair and then give her a mint.
Ross Poldark would have grabbed her by the wrist, marched her home and sulked for a fortnight.
When Poldark vents his anger he takes an axe to a pile of logs. Melbourne retreats to his library with a whisky and Shakespeare.
I doubt Ross has ever read a book in his life. Even when he writes letters to his wife he gets bored after the first sentence and angrily screws it up in a ball.
Lord Melbourne sent Victoria a telescope so she can gaze at the stars, he grew her an orchid in his greenhouse and he accompanied her to the opera.
No wonder she looked so forlorn when he turned down her offer of marriage.
In the coming weeks we will see Victoria fall for and marry Prince Albert. I just hope it doesn’t mean we see less of the delicious Lord M and those magnificent breeches.