Turner takes on the role of Ross Poldark, previously played by Robin Ellis in the original 1975-1977 adaption of Winston Graham’s famous books.
Set in 18th-century Cornwall, the novels tell the story of Army officer Ross Poldark who returns home from the American Revolutionary War to find that his fiancée, Elizabeth Chynoweth, believes he’s dead and is about to marry his cousin.
He sets out to restore his fortunes by reopening one of the family’s tin mines, setting the scene for an epic saga of love, business and betrayal.
The new eight-part series has been adapted from Graham’s novels by Debbie Horsfield (Cutting It) and is directed by Ed Bazalgette (The Guilty, Endeavour).
Commenting on his casting, Turner says: “I’m very excited to play Ross Poldark for the BBC and it’s obviously a huge challenge to honour the extraordinary character Winston Graham created and who Debbie Horsfield has brought new life to. But there’s a terrific team coming together and the scripts are superb, so I can’t wait to get started.”
Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning, added: “We are really excited. He is a brilliant actor, he is part of the BBC family, we are incredibly thrilled he is coming back from Hollywood from The Hobbit in order to lead Poldark for BBC One.”
Damien Timmer, executive producer for Mammoth Screen which is producing the series, commented: “Ross Poldark is an iconic role – we needed an actor with the right combination of striking looks, youthful rebelliousness, emotional complexity and maturity of presence which hints at the man he becomes across the saga. In our minds there was only one candidate. Happily he said yes!”
Turner’s casting was endorsed by Winston Graham’s son, Andrew who said: “I am delighted at the choice of Aidan Turner as Ross, as I am sure my father would have been. Ross in the novels was a man of dark good looks, impulsive temperament, strong loyalties and deep emotions. I am greatly looking forward to seeing Aidan bring all these qualities freshly to life.”
Filming begins in Cornwall and Bristol in April 2014 and the series will transmit in 2015 on BBC One.