Aidan Turner insists he ‘didn’t feel objectified’ by racy topless Poldark pic after debate

Aidan Turner, 39, has spoken out on his infamous shirtlessness for Poldark in a brand new interview, during which he admitted he had decided to get “in shape” for the role, but also insisted that his muscular physique “wasn’t something I focused on”. That wasn’t the case for Poldark’s many female fans, some of whom obsessed over the aesthetic.

Aidan acknowledged that he made an extra special effort to get fit when he began the role.

“Ross Poldark was a very active guy, and the sort of diet he’d be on, it just felt right to get myself into that,” he explained.

“He’s a farmer, he’s working, he’s riding a horse all the time, he’s a soldier, so it made sense to be in shape.”

As the world enthused over his seemingly flawless physique, it prompted a new debate – whether the actor had been objectified, and whether anything was different for him based on his gender.

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However, she had been erased from the final photo – and, likewise, the tattoo, which is from 25 years ago, has since been lasered off.

Nowadays, Aidan’s days in Poldark seem almost a distant memory, after recently getting to grips with a brand new role for ITV drama The Suspect.

He stars as clinical psychologist Dr Joe O’Loughlin in a thriller adapted from the novel of the same name, by Michael Robotham.

In the first episode of the show, he risks his own life to save a suicidal patient from death, battling the onset of Parkinson’s disease all the while.