Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson: ‘Sex scenes with Aidan are hilarious’
The actress who plays Demelza opens up about their bedroom antics on set
We always knew Ross Poldark was destined for great things, and he’s about to take the political world by storm in London as he takes MP George Warleggan’s seat in Parliament.
But while his alter ego fights to help the poor and create social reform in the House of Commons, it hasn’t given Aidan Turner a taste for life as an MP.
“It’s quite the opposite!” laughs the 34-year-old Irishman, who plays Ross.
“I wouldn’t like the responsibility, it freaks me out.
"It’s a funny dynamic to stand up and have people shouting at you [in Parliament] – the extras normally mime but they were really going for it! It’s a madhouse, dog eat dog, and it’s still like that to a degree.
"Poldark is in and out of the House of Commons during this series, but he hasn’t turned his back on the people of Cornwall.”
Initially Demelza stays behind in the south west to run the farm and the mine, but she’s soon mixing in all the right circles around London’s swanky Portland Place.
“I don’t think Ross is very social, so he finds it all a bit awkward. It’s more Demelza’s realm,” explains Aidan.
“Ross finds it a bit cringey, being recognised as an MP now. It’s not really his bag. But she likes it.
“It’s a new lease of life for the couple.
"At first, Ross is away for months at a time and their relationship suffers, but it was fun to play the scenes when they meet up and have this second honeymoon period in London.”
While their two children do join the Poldarks in the capital, servant Prudie and dog Garrick are left behind in Cornwall.
“I hate that dog!” laughs Aidan. “I’ve never disliked an animal in my life, but I don’t like that dog. You can’t pet him. He bites you. There’s zero love there, he’s just looking for a treat all the time.
“Perhaps the part has gone to his head! He’s famous now. He’s in all the adverts. He doesn’t show up most days. We have to pretend he’s there – we’re miming while he’s off doing a commercial!”
As the eight-part series begins, the family are trying to move on from Demelza’s affair with Lieutenant Hugh Armitage.
“Ross is convinced that Demelza’s fallen in love and it was more than just a fling with Hugh,” admits Aidan.
“There’s a double standard there. But he and [ex-lover] Elizabeth have a purely platonic relationship now.”
“Ross got a taste of his own medicine,” says Eleanor Tomlinson, 26, who plays the feisty Mrs Poldark.
“He finally realised what he’s sacrificed. They lost sight of each other and stopped working together as a team. Demelza does feel guilty, but she loves Ross and wants to be with him.
She’s not interested in a lifetime of affairs.
She and Ross are like peas in a pod, – they couldn’t live without each other.”
“The scenes with Ross and Demelza, I felt the love again,” adds Aidan.
However, the follow-up work involved in intimate scenes can be uncomfortable…
“Sex scenes with Aidan are hilarious, but I don’t look forward to ADR’ing [additional dialogue recording] those – where you have to re-record every breath and squeak you’ve made,” Eleanor says. “It’s so awkward with sex scenes.”
Although the infamous shirtless scything scene won’t be repeated this series, we do get a glimpse of a bare-chested Ross emerging from the sea in the first episode.
“I don’t get my kit off anymore!” Aidan roars.
“Staying fit is not something I greatly enjoy, but it comes with the territory, so I do the usual stuff like weight training and diet.
"Although it does seem like the coats and jackets are going up [in size] more, and the pants are tighter… I know that when I’m busting out of the waistcoat, it’s time to put down the pie!”
While there are five more of Winston Graham’s 12 novels to provide material for the Poldark adaptations, TV Mag hears the fifth series could be the end…
“I think next year might be the last one – certainly for a while,” admits Aidan.
“The time jump between the book after this one is huge – about 15 years – so I’d want to come back in 10 years, rather than ‘age up’ and put grey in my hair!
"We’ve done really well with Winston’s books. I hope he’d be proud. His son and his estate are.
“It’s been big for us all and will always be very special, but things naturally do come to an end. You don’t want things to go on too long and limp out of the back door.”
Poldark, Sunday, 9pm, BBC One
Don't know what to watch tonight? Get your daily guide to What's On TV from The Sun Online