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BBC announces sad Poldark news – and fans won't be happy!

Do you want the good news, or the bad news?

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Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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Want to hear the good news first? The BBC have announced that Poldark has officially started filming season five. The bad news is that they have also confirmed that the fifth series will be the show's last. The popular period drama was based on the 12 novels by Winston Graham, and season four was based on the author's seventh novel in the series, The Angry Tide, before going on a ten-year hiatus before the eighth novel, The Stranger from the Sea.

poldark© Photo: BBC

Season five will be the show's last

Speaking about what to expect from season five, the showrunner Debbie Horsfield said: "In The Stranger from the Sea Winston Graham made many references to developments that happened in the 'gap' years. Much can also be inferred. There are, of course, also historical events and people of the time, both in Cornwall and in London. Series five will draw on all of these to follow the lives of the Poldarks, George Warleggan, the Enyses, and the Carnes in this intervening period."

READ: Find out which royal is a fan of Poldark

The BBC revealed the synopsis of the new series, writing: "It is a new century and with it comes the promise of a hopeful future, but the past casts a long shadow over Cornwall. Following the death of Elizabeth, Ross Poldark resolves to put Westminster behind him and spend more time with the people he loves. However, when an old friend emerges with a plea for help, Ross is compelled to challenge the establishment again. As the Enyses rally to join the cause, Demelza must contend with dangers close to home, while George courts corrupt powers whose influence spans the Empire."

READ: Do you watch the same TV shows as the royal family?

poldark 1© Photo: BBC

Aidan Turner will return as Ross Poldark

The executive producer of Mammoth hinted that there could be more series after concluding series five, saying: "At Mammoth we're all fans of the Poldark books and we hope our audience will continue with us on the next stage of the journey. We are confident that fans of the novels will appreciate the care with which Debbie Horsfield is continuing to adapt Winston Graham's saga. This will be the last series in the Poldark chronicle... for now. Who knows what the future may bring."

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