Who to Look Out For in Today's 'Poldark'

Here are some of the characters to look out for in the first episode of Poldark, tonight 9 pm, BBC One.

via IMDB

 Ruth Teague (Harriet Ballard) meets Ross in the carriage

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Mrs Chynoweth (Sally Dexter), Elizabeth's mother

via BBCRadioCornwall

Zacky Martin (Tristan Sturrock pictured here with BBC Radio Cornwall's David White)  A village elder. Zacky is one of few in the mining community who can read and is well respected amongst his peers. He is older than Ross, but they are old friends and he is proud to be able to work at Wheal Leisure where he gains a trusted position.

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Jim Carter (Alexander Arnold) (pictured), Mark Daniel (Matthew Wilson) and Paul Daniel (Ed Browning) Ross’ friends from before the war, they would often get into scrapes together, mostly a bit of smuggling. Ross believes that they will always see him as gentry – a landlord to doff their caps to – but they are actually loyal and devoted friends.

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Tom Carne (Mark Frost)  Demelza's father

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Prudie (Beatie Edney) Ross' servant provides some comic relief along with...

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...Jud Paynter (Philip Davis). Jud and Prudie were Ross’ father’s servants and friends, but they are drunken, lazy and not averse to stealing from their master’s drinks cabinet. Ross keeps them on in recognition of their relationship with his late father, but it is a struggle to get them to pull their weight.

via IMDB

Harris Pascoe (Richard Hope) A kindly banker who has a long history with Ross and his father. His bank is much smaller than Warleggans, but he works hard in his clients' best interests and would be loathe to let any of them fall into bankruptcy, especially Ross, who he considers a good friend.

via IMDB

Dr Choake (Robert Daws) The snobbish local doctor who considers himself above the lower classes that cannot pay him enough for his services. He focuses on working for the wealthy and is a firm advocate of leeches and bleeding and does not approve of Dwight Enys’ modern methods. He is also a stakeholder in Wheal Leisure.

photo: Nick Kenyon 

George Warleggan (Jack Farthing). From humble beginnings as blacksmiths, the Warleggans have strived to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Cornwall. George is an ambitious young banker who will stop at nothing to make a profit, even if it means seeing his closest friends financially ruined.

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Cary Warleggan (Pip Torrens) George’s uncle and the devil on his shoulder, he presses George to make increasingly callous business decisions. Cary maintains a coarse edge that betrays his working class upbringing and can be an acute embarrassment to George.

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 Charles Poldark (Warren Clarke) Ross' uncle. An imposing man whose presence fills any room, Charles is the elder statesman of the Poldark family. He longs for his son Francis to be more like his nephew Ross, but privately concedes that Francis lacks the gumption and aptitude to take over the family business.

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Aunt Agatha (Caroline Blakiston) The matriarch of the Poldark family, Aunt Agatha may be in her nineties with little of her hearing and none of her teeth left, but she is as shrewd and outspoken as she ever was. 

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Verity Poldark (Ruby Bentall) Ross' cousin. Verity has been a dutiful daughter, but Ross’ return finally allows her an opportunity to venture into society. At a dance she falls in love with Captain Andrew Blamey, whose dark past does not meet her family’s approval. Verity seems destined to live life as a lonely spinster

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Francis Poldark (Kyle Soller) Ross' cousin. Born into wealth, Francis stands to inherit the greater Poldark estate. However, he is not as capable as his father or his cousin and struggles to take over the running of Grambler mine. Keenly aware of his inferiority to Ross – his wife’s true love – he turns to gambling and drink.

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Elizabeth Chynoweth (Heida Reed) Elizabeth once promised herself to Ross, but after three years and rumours of his death, she agreed to marry Francis. When Ross returns, she is deeply tormented by long buried feelings. Desperate to remain true to Francis, Elizabeth can’t help but feel she may be marrying the wrong Poldark...

Demelza Carne (Eleanor Tomlinson) The only daughter of an impoverished, brutal and alcoholic miner, Demelza is rescued from a life of violence by Ross who employs her as his kitchen maid. Outspoken and fiercely independent, her lively mind makes her thirst for knowledge. Her blossoming beauty goes unnoticed by Ross – at first!

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Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) A man of contradictions, Ross has a strong sense of social justice but a contempt for authority. Reckless yet full of integrity. Charismatic but down-to-earth. Volatile yet fiercely loyal. Torn between two women and two social classes. A hero to most, a scourge to many.