While Poldark has been testing the boundaries of on-screen sex-scenes, it also brought an incredibly jarring moment to fans.
The villains within the show stand out in prolific ways, and none are more vile than the horrendous Reverend Ossie Whitworth (played by Christian Brassington).
Although hated for his heinous crimes against women, fans were also turned off by him last season after they witnessed him vigorously sucking the toes of a prostitute at a brothel.
Poldark writer Debbie Horsefield recently spoke at a Q&A about writing these villains, and why that scene was needed in the show.
She told press including Express.co.uk: “I love to write for Ossie actually – but to be honest I love to write for all of the characters.
“I have to love them all actually – I have to get inside their heads and understand what will motivate them.
“I have to love every single one of them, but you know Ossie is so repulsive, but he’s delightful because I kind of know where the story’s going you see.”
Although a reprehensible character, Debbie noted the character’s infamous toe scene was originally in the books – and was very important to the vicar’s character.
She added: “He does it so well doesn’t he?
“That’s why I think Christian [Brassington] is brilliant because you start off thinking in the very first scene he’s just a bit of a buffoon.
“His first wife’s just died and he’s going on about his lemon waistcoat as if that’s the most important thing, and he kind of takes you in because you think he’s just an idiot really.
“Then he actually is repulsive and violent and hideous in every way and actually I think it’s a great achievement because then we’re kind of implicated actually. We kind of thought he was a bit of – not fun – but just such an idiot. And actually he’s a vile aggressive hideous person. He’s manipulative.
“That storyline is very important to the books and we didn’t want to shortchange that because it was reality for women of that period – and really up to it.
“It became illegal to rape your wife actually which was not that long ago. That was the reality for so many women and to shortchange that I think would have been to do a disservice.”
But will fans be treated to another fetish scene including the vicar in the remaining episodes of season four?
