Beatie Edney's well aware why we all love Poldark

ASK Poldark’s Beatie Edney the secret of the show’s success and she rightly pays testament to the top-notch writing and performances.

In the same breath, though, she flags up another reason millions tune in – hunky lead Aidan Turner.

She’s more than aware of “the scything scene”, the shirtless bit of crop-chopping that had hearts all a-flutter.

“I talk to him quite a bit about the reaction,” Beatie, who plays Captain Ross Poldark’s servant Prudie, told iN10 as the series returns tonight.

“We’d been chatting about sexism against women in this industry and the following morning I walked into the make-up bus and there he was with his shirt off.

“I couldn’t help doing a double take and he caught me and said, ‘That’s the same thing’.

“He’s our eye candy! But I know how he feels, it’d make me uncomfortable if I was that age and people were ogling me.”

Hunk factor aside, Beatie has nothing but praise for Aidan and Eleanor Tomlinson, who plays his flame-haired wife Demelza.

“Aidan’s a fantastic movie star,” says Beatie, 52. “He’s in every scene and he’s very conscious of the fact he can’t have a sick day.

“We’re really lucky with Aidan and Eleanor. We’ve got two leads who always know their lines, are always on time and work really, really hard.

“Eleanor is the one who won me over when I watched the first series. You usually get a chance to see the episodes in advance but I was just watching it as a punter with the rest of the audience.

“I wasn’t sure it was the kind of series for me as a viewer but while Aidan’s fantastic, Eleanor’s the heart of it. Demelza’s the love of the thing.”

Beatie Edney and Phil Davis in Poldark (BBC)

Beatie, who is the daughter of actress Sylvia Syms, admits no one involved had any idea the series, originally a hit in the 1970s, would be such a smash this time round.

“It was a real shock,” she says. “It was praised across the board and there’s such a love for it among fans.

“They are so loyal and vocal in their appreciation. My family usually pay no attention whatsoever to what I do ever, but from grannies to grandchildren, they loved it.

“I went to a family wedding in Cornwall and the bride’s father mentioned myself and Poldark in his speech!”

One thing commented on first time round was that Cornwall looked just too nice and sunny, rather than windswept and storm-tossed. But scheduling meant this series was shot in the autumn, giving it a darker look.

The BBC knows the show is such a banker that even before the new batch of 10 episodes starts tonight, the cast start filming for series three first thing tomorrow morning.

“We’ve already been for the script read-throughs and many of us keep in touch anyway,” says Beatie. “Fingers crossed the reviews will be nice.”

The south-west of England is now the base for Londoner Beatie’s year-round working life.

When she’s not with Poldark in Cornwall she’s filming BBC One daytime drama The Coroner In Devon, in which she plays Claire Goose’s mum.

“I have to stay a big girl, as they say, for the part, which is the only downside.

“My character’s a woman of a certain age who’s having a fabulous time but I just need to stay healthy.”

Starring alongside a heartthrob like Aidan is nothing new for Beatie.

Her big breakthrough was as Heather MacLeod in Scots-shot movie Highlander in 1986 with Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery.

“I think Tarzan had just come out and Christopher was a real pin-up at the time,” adds Beatie. “My friends were just eaten up with jealousy.

“I hadn’t actually met Sean before filming started but my mum knows him so he was very avuncular and looked after me on set.

“That was really nice of him. I have brilliant memories of it all. It was such an amazing film to start with and I loved Scotland and all the amazing locations we got to use.”

Poldark, BBC One, tonight, 9pm

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