BBC confirms Aidan Turner will return in series three of Poldark

(Image credit: Associated Press Contributors)

Aidan Turner will return in the title role as 10-part Poldark series three has been confirmed by the BBC

Finally, it's been confirmed – Aidan Turner will be back for a third series of BBC One’s hit drama Poldark.

The series, adapted by Debbie Horsfield from the novels by Winston Graham tells the tale of the hero Ross Poldark’s return home to his life in Cornwall after fighting in the American War of Independence and the trials, tribulations, new loves and new battles he encounters along the way.

Poldark’s debut series was a resounding success with 9.4 million viewers tuning in across both TV and iPlayer and it won the Radio Times Audience Award at this year’s Baftas

A topless Aidan Turner in Poldark — *Don’t worry, there’ll be much more of this next year (BBC)*

Mammoth Screen Managing Director Damien Timmer said: "Poldark is a passion project for all of us, and it's with real excitement that we prepare for both the launch of series two and our return to Cornwall to shoot series three. Winston Graham and Debbie Horsfield's extraordinary flair for storytelling means the saga of Ross, his friends and enemies will go to even more thrilling places!"

Aidan Turner, who plays Poldark, began his career featuring in a number of stage productions in his home country Ireland, most notably The Plough & The Stars, Romeo & Juliet and A Cry from Heaven.

The 33-year-old got his break in 2008 landing a lead role in the film Alarm. He then got a regular part on the Irish series The Clinic as the energetic receptionist Ruairi McGowan. After three series with the show, he lmoved to the UK, where he had a leading role in BBC3 drama Being Human as the vampire John Mitchell. He simultaneously starred in Desperate Romantics and the movie Hattie.

In 2011 Aidan's career took off when he was cast as the dwarf Kili in JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. While filming the trilogy he also starred in Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones as werewolf Luke Garroway.

The Irishman is favourite to take over as Daniel Craig as the next James Bond.

After months of speculation, the announcement of 10 new episodes to hit our screens in 2017 will be popular. Poldark executive producer Elizabeth Kilgarriff said: "Series two promises to take the audience on another fantastic roller-coaster ride and we're thrilled to know that the story won't end there. It's a testament to Debbie's brilliant story-telling and the passion of the Mammoth team that Poldark will be returning for a third series with yet more twists and turns for these much loved characters."