What a difference 40 years makes. Monkey was watching the 1970s version of Poldark and noticed that the scar on hero Ross Poldark’s face – played by Robin Ellis – is on his right cheek. Whereas the one on Aidan Turner’s cheek in the new adaptation is on his left. Yup, look closely eagle-eyed fans (Monkey hasn’t examined scars so closely since watching THAT scene in Lethal Weapon 3). So why the scar switch? Debbie Horsfield who adapted the new Poldark says that in the Winston Graham novels there is no mention of which side the scar is on. It just says Ross returns from fighting in the American wars of independence “with a scar on his cheek”. There is a further mention later which says: “The scar was more than half-hidden by the long side hair, but all the same the tail of it down his cheek was a token of wildness and intractability.” Horsfield explains: “The actual look and creation of the scar is designed by our makeup designer Jacqui Fowler who is taking as her reference the source material rather than the previous adaptation.” Left or right, makes no odds to Monkey – simians dig scars.
