Poldark bosses have defended criticism that the show “objectifies” lead star Aidan Turner just as a new topless promo shot is released.
On Friday, the BBC released a new picture of the titular star, showing him bare-chested in a field ahead of the launch of the new series later month.
At a screening of the first episode of series four, executive producer Karen Thrussell spoke out against the idea that the way Poldark is portrayed could be seen as “gratuitous”, insisting that the scenes are more tasteful on screen than in the book.
She explained: “In the novels Ross Poldark goes swimming quite a lot, and he doesn’t wear anything at all.
“We’ve been true to the books and the novels and we’ve also been quite modest.”
Turner’s character showing off his torso has become a signature of the programme, in which he stars alongside Eleanor Tomlinson, Heida Reed and Luke Norris.
Of his character and his ego, Turner said: “Well, that's the joy of playing a character like Ross for me, he's a complex person. He's not a person who always makes the right decisions at the right time and does the right thing.
Poldark series 3 - in pictures
"He's flawed, and that's why I find him interesting to play. I think he's open all the time to learning, to change, although he can be stubborn.
"But I think his heart is in the right place, and I think in this series, we see him change and we see him grow and maybe lose some of that ego.”
He added: “I don't think he'd be a very interesting character to play, or I don't think he'd be very truthful, if he was just making the right decisions at the right time.”
Poldark returns to BBC One on Sunday 10 June at 9pm.
