Poldark series 5: Filming, cast, air date and everything you need to know

Even before the fourth series had aired, Poldark had been officially renewed for a fifth series by the BBC.

It was Demelza herself, AKA Eleanor Tomlinson, who announced the exciting news, although it shouldn't be too much of a surprise given that Aidan Turner had previously described the show as a "five-year gig".

But, and brace yourselves, it was confirmed in September that the fifth series will be the show's last. Karen Thrussell, executive producer for production company Mammoth Screen stated, "This will be the last series in the Poldark chronicle... for now," adding mysteriously, "Who knows what the future may bring."

Here's everything you need to know about series five, which could be your last dose of shirtless reaping for many years.

Poldark season 5 filming: When does shooting begin?

Shooting began on September 10, as confirmed by the BBC.

The current run of episodes started filming in September 2017, so we can expect a similar timeframe for series five.

It will likely take place again across the South West of England – in Cornwall, of course, but also Bristol – with some additional shooting in London, but we'll have to wait a few months for confirmation of dates and locations.

Poldark season 5 air date: When can we expect it?

The show has aired every year since 2015, but its place in the schedule has jumped all over the place. After the first series premiered in March 2015, the second started in September 2016 and the third moved up a bit to June 2017.

Series four followed suit by arriving on June 10, 2018, so at the moment, our best bet is that the BBC will stick to the early summer slot and air series five from early-to-mid June on BBC One.

In the US, Poldark airs on PBS as part of the Masterpiece programming block and the new episodes usually follow a few months after their UK airing, so if series five does air in June, expect it to arrive in the US in September or October at the earliest.

Poldark season 5 cast: Who's coming back?

Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson, who play Ross and Demelza Poldark respectively, will definitely be back in series five.

Joining them, as always, is the fantastic Prudie Paynter, who plays the lovable Beatie Edney, who was pictured with them on location.

One person who WON'T be coming back is Christian Brassington as his brilliantly disgusting Reverend Ossie Whitworth was killed off in episode five of the current series in a fitting manner.

Also not returning is Poldark stalwart Heida Reed, who plays Ross' former love Elizabeth died after suffering post-natal complications in the series four finale.

Aidan Turner commented on losing his long-time co-star: "It was heartbreaking when Heida left the show, [and] playing that scene when she's dead. Losing a principal cast member who's been quite close to us all for the last number of years, it's quite big. Losing a friend on the show is weird. It's a funny feeling. That was a big one.

Poldark season 5 episodes: Is this really the end?

Ever since it was described as a "five-year gig", fans have been worried that series five will mark the end of the show and before series four aired, Turner explained it might be better for the end to come sooner rather than later.

"You don't want things to go on too long and just limp out the backdoor," he told Digital Spy. "So I think next year [the fifth series] might be the last one – certainly for a while. We may come back. Who knows?"

Winston Graham's novels do feature a major time jump of 11 years between two of the books, so Turner isn't ruling out a return in the future if series five is the end.

"The jump is huge," he acknowledged. "But I'm not putting grey in my hair [for the next series] or anything like that. I'll come back in 10 years and revisit it the right way."

Earlier this year, Turner admitted that he doesn't know for sure what the future holds for the show. "Definitely we're going to do season five, we're going to shoot the fifth one. After that, I don't know. We'll have to see how it all goes, but definitely for five. It's kind of one step at a time," he outlined.

As stated above, the fifth will be the final series but, as executive producer Karen Thrussell said, "Who knows what the future may bring."

Poldark season 5 trailer: Is there any footage?

Unless series five starts filming before series four ends, we can't expect any new footage anytime soon, but hopefully the current series will end with a teaser, like series three featuring Ross in front of Westminster.

Poldark airs on Sundays at 9pm on BBC One in the UK, and on PBS in the US. Pre-order the season 1-4 box set on DVD or Blu-ray now.

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