Yahoo News Eleanor Tomlinson wasn't Poldark's original Demelza
It's hard to imagine anyone else but Eleanor Tomlinson playing Demelza in BBC One's modern version of Poldark, but the actress came very close to not landing the role.
In an interview with Red magazine, Eleanor made the startling admission that she was initially discouraged from auditioning as Demelza during the Poldark casting process.
"Initially they had me down as an Elizabeth," she explained. "They told me they couldn't see me as a Demelza at all – they wouldn't even let me audition. So, it was quite a shock when they eventually offered me the role."
Eleanor - who is about to release her first album - also acknowledged that her fiery chemistry with co-star Aidan Turner does extend off-screen, although she clarifies that their rows are always good-natured.
"We're great mates, although we do row. [We row about] everything - usually our characters," she said. "We're both ridiculously protective of them and squabble like an old married couple.
"Usually it's one of us saying that our character wouldn't behave a certain way. Aidan loves everything being his [character's]. But then he loves to wind me up."
Also in the Red interview, Eleanor admitted that she likely does not receive equal pay to Aidan Turner and called on the BBC to rectify the gender bias.
"While at the beginning that might have been okay – he was a bigger star than me – now I don't think so," she argued. "We're equal leads of the show, so I'd be pretty upset if the gap hadn't closed."
The full interview appears in the July issue of Red, on sale May 30. For further exclusive content, please go to www.redonline.co.uk.
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