Poldark star Eleanor Tomlinson’s new role for BBC drama is a far cry from dressed-down Demelza 

As Demelza Poldark, her clothing tended to be as drab as a rainy day on Bodmin. So fans will be intrigued to see actress Eleanor Tomlinson in a much more colourful ensemble for a new BBC drama in which she plays a troubled aristocrat who falls foul of the law.

However, it’s her flamboyant dress sense that might be her biggest crime – against fashion. Wearing a jaunty trilby, gold jacket and patterned red trousers tucked into black boots, Eleanor was seen filming The Offenders in Bristol last week.

The drama, written by The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant, follows seven criminals carrying out community service sentences.

Eleanor plays Gabby, an ‘aristocratic celebutante whose glamour and life of leisure masks deep-rooted problems’, according to the makers.

The 28-year-old seemed in high spirits during filming. In between scenes, she wrapped herself in a grey dressing gown and clutched a hot-water bottle to combat the cold.

In a recent interview, she said of her character: ‘Gabby is a social-media influencer with a drink and drug problem. 

She is wild and uncontrollable and, without being unkind, blissfully unaware of the lives of others around her, which makes her outrageously funny to play.’

The series also stars Christopher Walken, 78, as Frank, ‘an inveterate scoundrel trying to reconnect with his family’. Filming began last year but was postponed because of Covid.

Last month, Eleanor revealed her frustration at some Covid restrictions, saying that she ‘yearns for the day when we don’t have to wear masks’ and that she misses hugging people.

Meanwhile, she plays another shady character – scaly-skinned drug mule Candy in Sky One’s Intergalactic.