Gabriella Wilde Talks 'Poldark' Series Five

Photo: BBC

Returning  to the role of Caroline Enys  for the last time, Gabriella Wilde admits she loves playing a character who is consistently full of surprises:‘It has been nice to play a strong woman who has so many layers to her and who is not necessarily what she initially appears. She seems to be this heiress with a lack of substance but she keeps revealing more of herself and so we learn that that is not necessarily the case. Also it has been lovely as an actress to play a role for four years – before Caroline, the longest time I had spent with a character is about four months. It is a very different experience to keep revisiting someone and take them through such a large chunk of their life in so much detail.

‘Caroline has grown so much since we first met her. Every series we see her come up against something new and the multiple, different sides of her that has brought out have been interesting to explore. You do your work as an actor, to understand the depths and layers of the role you are playing but to actually have the opportunity to show these different sides to her has been great.’

Gabriella explains: ‘Whilst I have loved the heavier story lines and going through all of those emotions as Caroline, I also love when she is naughty and sharp. It is fun to play a character who is bright in that way. She has been a constant surprise.’

Photo: Gabriella Wilde

Gabriella reveals what is in store for Caroline this series, revealing that she becomes rather jealous of a new addition to Cornwall, Kitty Despard (Kerri McLean), who seems to have caught the attention of Caroline’s husband, Dr. Dwight Enys (Luke Norris):‘At the start of the new series Caroline is in Cornwall, still recovering from the loss of her daughter Sarah, although quite internally. Dwight and her are trying to reconnect and rebuild their relationship and whilst neither of them has fully recovered from the loss of their child, which for Caroline has manifested in insecurity, they are trying to find a way to be happy together once again.

‘The arrival of Kitty Despard throws up a lot of those insecurities for Caroline and shows the cracks in their relationship. What is difficult is that Caroline really does admire Kitty, she admires a strong woman but she also feels that Kitty is a lot of things that she isn’t, which is a very tough thing for her to wrap her head around and it is a trigger for a lot of different things that happen this series.

‘The most challenging thing was understanding and getting right Caroline’s respect and awe for Kitty but also the insecurity and jealousy she feels because of her. It was a case of her grappling with self-awareness, trying to understand why she is feeling this way and admitting it to herself or not and how that plays out. It is a very real scenario as people are often jealous or insecure due to reasons that go slightly deeper, because something else is going on with them – so it was challenging trying to make sure that was played out correctly.’

Kitty Despard is on a dangerous mission to vindicate her husband, Ned (Vincent Regan), who has been wrongfully imprisoned. Gabriella discusses why Caroline joins the fight for Ned’s freedom despite her complicated feelings: ‘There are layers as to why Caroline joins the fight for Ned’s liberation – on one level she enjoys doing things that are surprising, that stir people up a little and that people wouldn’t necessarily expect from her because she enjoys that element of rebellion. She also does have very strong morals and ethics and she does not agree with the way the Despards are being treated. She is a powerful woman so she wants to use that to help them. On a very base level, she also wants to be around Dwight and Kitty because she is insecure about it and wants to be present within the action, to be involved in what is going on to make herself feel better.’

Gabriella talks about what it was like to return for the final time to film Poldark and the friendships she has formed on this show: ‘It was strange but it still doesn’t feel like it is over; I don’t think it will hit me until September when we don’t go back to filming. This year felt different. Even getting the scripts through was a different experience because we didn’t know what they were going to entail, as it is the first series not based on the books.

'Poldark has such a lovely cast and crew and so going to work every day with this group of people I have become so fond of is what I will miss the most. Luke (Norris) is a really good friend of mine and we have been lucky to get on so well. Outside of filming we have been going through the same things in life at similar times like having our children and so we have grown very close. It has been a real joy to work alongside him for these past few years. We will definitely stay in touch, it has been a huge portion of our lives and there have been friendships made that will last past Poldark.’

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Source: BBC Media Pack