Poldark star Aidan Turner has said it was wonderful returning to shoot the second series after the first proved to be a ratings winner.

The Irish actor played Cornish mine owner Ross Poldark in the BBC’s adaptation of Winston Graham’s novels, which peaked with 9.4 million viewers across TV and iPlayer and won the Radio Times Audience Award at this year’s Baftas.

Aidan is back for a second series in September, with a third also in the pipeline.

“It was lovely to come back knowing that the first series went out and it was popular, it’s a real morale booster on set,” he said.

“It’s also very flattering because we all worked really hard on the first series and it seems like it has paid off.

Aidan Turner
Aidan Turner (Willy Sanjuan /AP)

“It’s great because we enjoy doing what we do and we want the show to continue. There is so much more of this story to tell so it kind of needed to be a hit!”

The new series picks up where the last left off, with Poldark facing trial and possible hanging with he and wife Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) having just lost their daughter, Julia.

Poldark will also venture back into smuggling and becomes embroiled in several battles with arch-rival George Warleggan (Jack Farthing).

Eleanor Tomlinson and Aidan Turner in Poldark
Eleanor Tomlinson and Aidan Turner in Poldark (BBC)

Aidan said: “I really enjoy the fight scenes, they are so much fun.

“George is working out, he’s boxing and training so he is well able to handle himself these days which makes the fight more interesting. He’s quite vicious in some of these fights. There’s a lot of strangling and throwing ourselves into bookcases, and smashing glass. I put his head into a fire at one stage!

“Jack is a lovely guy. That’s probably why I enjoy the fight scenes so much because I really like him. He is such a brilliant actor and I have learnt so much from him.”

Writer Debbie Horsfield said of the new series: “The stakes are higher, the rivalries keener and characters go to greater lengths to get what they want.

“Ross continues to be a man of action, with his usual recklessness and headstrong risk-taking, but Demelza is no less proactive, often stepping in to save the day when Ross has overstepped the mark.”

Poldark returns to BBC One on September 4.