The BBC has revealed plot details for the first episode in the new series of Poldark, confirmed for transmission on BBC One on 4 September.
The series consists of ten new episodes, again adapted by Debbie Horsfield from the novels by Winston Graham.
The last series ended on a cliffhanger, as the dashing Ross Poldark, played by Aidan Turner, was arrested for inciting riot and murder.
The opening episode of the new series centres around Ross’s court case in Bodmin.
Ross’s nemesis George Warleggan, the ruthless banker from the powerful Warleggan clan (played by Jack Farthing), appears more prominently in this episode, as he builds his case against Ross.
George offers to stand up for Ross in court if he will accept his friendship, but Ross sticks to his principles and refuses, leaving him with the very real possibility of being hanged the following day.
Speaking at the RTS Poldark: Anatomy of a Hit event in April this year, Farthing said he enjoys playing the malevolent force of the series, but added that there is more to George’s character than that.
“It’s fun to play a villain. The most fun thing is that he feels real.… George is only effective if you can believe in him. If you don’t, he just becomes a psychopath.
“I can justify everything that he does…his chips, his resentments and his vulnerabilities.”
At the same event Debbie Horsfield said that there would be no topless scything in series two, due to the cold autumnal weather in Cornwall. However, the new trailer released by the BBC shows Ross appearing topless in the warmth of a mine instead.
The trailer also hints that ex-wife Elizabeth (Heida Reed), who took another husband when she believed Ross to be dead, may succeed in her attempts to seduce him; in the trailer Ross is knocked over by an almighty slap from Demelza.
Other characters from the novels are also introduced this series: John Nettles (Midsomer Murders) plays wealthy landowner Ray Penvenen and Gabriella Wilde (Endless Love) plays his niece Caroline Penvenen, a beautiful and manipulative heiress.
The BBC has confirmed that a third series is in the works, which will air in 2017.
Series two of Poldark will air at 9pm on 4 September on BBC One.