Aidan Turner’s killer abs almost cost him the role of Captain Ross Poldark in BBC’s Poldark as he was deemed to be “too muscly” by the show’s producers.
The 32-year-old appeared without a shirt in several episodes of the first series, and programme-bosses have revealed they initially believed he looked “too well-built” for having just returned from fighting in the American Revolutionary War.
The programme-makers who cast Turner were unaware that he was quite so buff – or that that he had been working out in the gym after landing the part of Ross Turner.
Show boss, Damien Timmer, admitted “We hadn’t seen him with his shirt off before we cast him. It wasn’t a big thing whether he was going to be shirtless,” he said.
“Then we looked at the rushes [uncut footage] and said, ‘Blimey, he’s so muscly. There were discussions about whether he just looked too well-built for that moment.” he told the Telegraph.
Thankfully, the scene was left in for our viewing pleasure and has caused quite a stir amongst fans of the drama.
Asked if there would be “any more warm weather scything” in series two, Turner laughed: “Possibly. It depends if we need the ratings. Oh dear, what has my life become…”
