BBC commissions remake of 1970s period drama Poldark

Robin Ellis played Poldark, alongside the late Angharad Rees as Demelza (BBC)

The BBC is to remake its hit 1970s Cornish costume drama Poldark.

The show, based on novels by Winston Graham, followed the life of soldier Ross Poldark, who returned to his home in Cornwall from the American War of Independence to find his fiancee believed him dead and was about to marry his cousin.

It was a big hit with viewers when it was first transmitted between 1975 and 1977.

The new series, made up of six hour-long episodes, is one of four new shows announced today including Our Zoo - about the man who built Chester Zoo - and From There To Here, which is set in Manchester in the aftermath of the IRA bombing of the city centre.

The BBC has also commissioned a new series from EastEnders writer Tony Jordan called Dickensian, which will bring characters from Charles Dickens's books to life in new stories.

PA