Writer Debbie Horsfield has revealed that, according to the books on which the period drama is based by Winston Graham, Ross Poldark’s (played by Aidan Turner) right-hand man remains very much alive.
Devastated viewers watched on in horror last month as Captain Henshawe (John Hollingworth) was brutally murdered during their rescue mission to France to save Dr. Dwight Enys (Luke Norris).
Speaking about the obstacles of the latest run exclusively to Express.co.uk, Debbie commented: “There’s always challenges. There’s so much you can’t really include from the books, for instance have every character. Sometimes you have to make decisions…”
The producer continued: “A perfect example is, the character who goes off to France for the rescue mission and dies, is a character we haven’t shown in the series.”
In the novels, a young carpenter called Joe Nanfan loses his life not Captain Henshawe, who was emotionally buried on the group’s return to the UK in the BBC show.
Debbie went on: “We felt that whoever we lost needed to have a huge impact and needed to be someone who meant something to us – the audience – and to Ross. That was the cost of him going on this big mission.
“Instead of it being a character who we hadn’t shown, who would just have come in for one episode, we chose to make it Captain Henshawe, which was a pretty devastating loss.”
Actor John has featured regularly in Poldark since the first series and tweeted following his character’s death: “Three years, 20 episodes – what a lovely family to be part of. Thanks for all the support! Last day on set… #Poldark.”
Meanwhile, addressing season four, Debbie added: “There are some fantastic new characters. There is one in particular that I really think will capture the imagination of viewers who Ross goes up against.
“There is also a different flavour to some for the episodes as we go to London.”
Poldark series three is distributed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment and is available to order now from Amazon and iTunes.
Daily Express :: TV and Radio Feed
