I was hugely supported and lucky - it was pre the MeToo movement and this great empowerment of women in our industry. She has, however, “had a really good experience.
When she first joined the cast, in series two, Wilde (who has two sons - Sasha, four, and Shiloh, two) had to tell producers she was pregnant Credit: Andrew Crowley Now I would bowl in there a lot more boldly and say ‘I’m pregnant and don’t you dare try and fire me’. When she first joined the cast, in series two, Wilde (who has two sons - Sasha, four, and Shiloh, two) had to tell producers she was pregnant. “ I would still feel nervous to request that for fear of losing the job.” “I think that every actress has to push themselves, even if they feel frightened” she says. Wilde admits she wouldn’t necessarily risk broaching the subject herself - yet. “She has every right to say that, and she has every right to ask for what she thinks she deserves.” “If she had said that a year ago, I think people would have been up in arms, or she might have got into trouble with production because of the way the industry is,” says Wilde. She is proud of her co-star, Eleanor Tomlinson (who plays Poldark’s wide, Demelza), for recently addressing the programme’s gender pay gap, forcing producers to admit that Turner was paid more. “A woman isn’t being ‘difficult’ if she’s trying to stand up for something that she needs,” she says. She is softly spoken, and distractingly beautiful, but possesses a steeliness. It seems to have given Wilde a thick skin. What’s good now is that there’s a questioning of that”. “I’ve definitely had experiences looking back that, umm… I don’t think were ok.
‘I was working on fashion campaigns that were very much for women and probably being sexualised in a way that I couldn’t comprehend yet myself’ Credit: Andrew Crowley “I was working on fashion campaigns that were very much for women and probably being sexualised in a way that I couldn’t comprehend yet myself. “I had my mother with me, but there were things that went on…” she pauses. “I started working from a very young age,” she says. She was immediately successful, modelling for Burberry among others, but turned her back on it four years later to pursue acting. Soon after, she met Naomi Campbell, who insisted Wilde be introduced to her agency, Premier Model Management. Wilde perhaps has more authority on the matter than most, having modelled from 14, when she was “discovered” by style icon Isabella Blow, whom she met through a friend of her mother’s (more on her well-connected family later). For women it is so deeply ingrained and infects so many aspects of your life.” She calls the reaction to Turner’s appearance “more lightheartedness”, whereas “women have been forced into thinking it’s a currency they have to use to get ahead, or to get the job.
She holds no truck with allegations that fans “objectify” Turner, arguing it is “different” from the kind of attention women get. This week, Turner admitted to choosing a smaller horse to ride because it makes him look “bigger”, and said that his trousers have got tighter over his years in the role.īut as Wilde remarks: “Well, maybe he’s a very smart man”. Gabriella Wilde as Caroline Penvenen in Poldark Credit: Mammoth ScreenĪnd, to be fair, he does rather ask for it. “But if you’re going to do it you’ve got to laugh at yourself. I’m sure he’s being cheered at and the crew are making jokes,” she adds.
“I do feel for him because it’s so talked about, and filming those scenes is probably awkward. “I mean I guess it’s what people want to see,” says Gabriella Wilde, 29, who plays Caroline Penvenen, the coquettish heiress who refuses to abide by 18th century codes of behaviour.
For Turner, it must all be getting a bit old by now, but for the rest of the cast, it’s an opportunity to gently poke fun at him. The hysteria around Turner’s chest seems to reach such a fever pitch every year, with some chatter that the show has been eclipsed by fraught debates around whether or not it is acceptable for female viewers to openly ogle the actor. And just like that, the nation will be hooked for another summer to this curious drama about a Cornish mining town. Striding naked but for a pair of breeches from the sea, his abs glistening, he resembles an 18th century James Bond. After bitter complaints, last year, that there weren’t enough sightings of Aidan Turner’s incomparable - and highly controversial - torso), the writers have clearly decided to give the people what they want.Īnd who can blame them? In the opening scene of the fourth series, which airs tomorrow night, Ross Poldark finally has his Daniel Craig moment. The new series of Poldark gets off to a frankly preposterous start. Gabriella Wilde on the Poldark gender pay gap, pregnancy and how she came to terms with being posh (The Telegraph)