Turner nears the end in Poldark

To say Ross Poldark’s chiselled torso has caused a stir is an understatement. There was an outcry on Twitter when, in the first episode of the last series of the BBC One period drama, there wasn’t an ab in sight.

Fans of the actor won’t have to wait long for a bare-chested moment in series four, though — within the first few minutes, he’s wading out of the Cornish sea after a swim.

The Bond-like sequence is bound to get people tweeting — but Aidan Turner, the Irishman behind the leading character, will be none the wiser.

“Social media is just not my thing. I don’t really dig it, it’s not my jam,” quips the star, 34.

I just don’t need that in my life. I don’t care to listen to people criticising me who I don’t know. There’s nothing I get from it.

There are plenty of talking points in the new episodes of Poldark, which have once again been adapted from Winston Graham’s novels by writer Debbie Horsfield (of Cutting It fame).

It’s now 1799, and former military man Ross, who has been trying to turn around the fortunes of his family mine, must defend Cornwall from an empowered George Warleggan (Jack Farthing).

Meanwhile, the end of series three left viewers worried about the fate of Ross’ marriage to down-to-earth

Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson).

But, good news — it’s clear from the start of series four that the pair have decided to stay together.

“It feels really honest this year, their relationship,” suggests Turner, also known for The Hobbit movie trilogy. “It’s grown up and to see that feels really organic, just real and right.”

Meanwhile, we will see Ross head into politics, as he takes his fight to abolish the poor houses and child labour to Westminster.

There’s no way his character’s passionate speeches in the Commons have given Turner a taste for politics, though.

“We didn’t do that thing where the extras mime and don’t speak, we just let them go for it, so I really had to raise my voice and fight to be heard,” recalls the actor from Clondalkin, Dublin.

You certainly feel the heat of the moment and just how frustrating it can be. And even to those tiny degrees as an actor, to feel that, to sit back down and feel disheartened... it’s a strange feeling.

The most enjoyable scenes for Turner this series involved Demelza joining Ross in London — being away from Cornwall is a new lease of life for both characters.

“It felt like we’d really reunited and we felt the love again, which was nice — it’s been a while. I think we both forgot, even as actors, how that felt to reconnect, and it felt real! It was nice to be happy with her again. It was gorgeous.”

There are 12 books in the Poldark series, which Graham first started writing in 1945.

The next one the TV show will cover — the eighth — is called The Stranger From The Sea and starts in 1810, a leap of more than ten years from when series four ends.

And the potential impending end of Poldark after series five (which has already been commissioned, don’t panic) is an unavoidable topic.

“I think next year might be the last one [series], certainly for a while,” admits Turner.

“We may come back, who knows. There’s a huge gap in the books, about 15 years.

“I wouldn’t age up, I’d come back in ten years. I’d revisit it the right way, I’m not putting grey in my hair or anything like that!”

Georgia Humphreys

Poldark returns to BBC One, Sunday