Poldark boss was worried Aidan Turner wasn't "attractive" enough for the part
The show's composer Anne Dudley set him straight
Hang on to your scythes people because it's been revealed that Poldark's producer had concerns that Aidan Turner wasn't "attractive" enough to play the titular character.
What's that sound? That's everyone Googling the picture of that topless scything scene to manically point at it incredulously.
It was in fact the show's composer Anne Dudley who stepped in to persuade Damien Timmer, the managing director of production company Mammoth Screen, that all would be well.
“It is true, Damien did ask me, ‘Do you think women will find Aidan attractive?’" Dudley told The Mirror. "I said, ‘I don’t think you will have a problem.'”
But it wasn't just looks on Timmer's mind. As they set about bringing Ross Poldark's story back to the small screen, he wasn't actually convinced that another remodelling of Winston Graham's novels would work.
“Sometimes remaking a series is not a good thing. I was on the fence about it but there were books we could relate to," he explained. “We did not know if the estate would let us have the rights, but they did.
“We spent ten months sitting on those rights and we did not know what to do with them as we did not think Debbie [writer Debbie Horsfield] would go for them.”
Well, thank goodness all those fears were allayed, the show was an almighty success and we now have another series to look forward to. All's well that ends well, eh?
Poldark series two is expected to air in the autumn.
