Robin Ellis is disappointed by ‘Poldark’s nudity.
The 73-year-old actor played the protagonist in the original television series, and has berated the new BBC One version for not casting an "ordinary bloke" as Captain Ross Poldark.
He commented: "I was just an ordinary bloke; in those days male actors weren’t muscular and buff. In the Seventies people would have been really taken aback – shocked, even – if I’d revealed the sort of tanned, toned six-pack that’s commonplace now."
The star – who now makes a living writing cookery books in France – explained the series’ main actor Aidan Turner’s many topless scenes are far more revealing than his one moment without a shirt on in the original series, for which he was scolded by his local launderette worker.
He told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "’Poldark’ wasn’t nearly as sexy as audiences like to believe
"I did take my white frilly shirt off on-screen – I was washing, I think – but it only happened the once in 29 episodes.
"The morning after it was screened, I went to my local launderette as usual and handed my clothes in for a service wash.
"The Eastern European woman who always did my washing stood there, shaking her head in disappointment, wagging her finger at me and saying, ‘Big mistake,’ so I didn’t do it again."