Lily Dodsworth-Evans is Cecily Hanson

"Cecily Hanson is a young lady who has raised herself for the last eight years. She has educated herself, she is intelligent and self-reliant, and she is very modern for the time. She reads Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication Of The Rights Of Women and is part of the anti-slavery movement.

‘When we first meet Cecily she is with her father, who has only just come back from Honduras, and they are very much strangers to each other. When she was younger she didn’t really know him as he was always off working, but she is pretty sure she doesn’t like him. At the same time she is willing to give things a go - deep down she yearns for some sort of relationship with her father as her mother has passed away."

Lily tells explains what drew her to this role.

"It was Cecily’s strength that made me want to play her. She really goes through it this series - it's a constant tug of war with her father and with what is expected of her. She is so strong but she still makes mistakes as she is young, and although she has a very good understanding of the world she doesn’t necessarily know how to navigate it.

Cecily is very different. She is a modern woman and a feminist before feminism was a thing."

Lily describes how Cecily goes on an incredible journey of love and friendship with Geoffrey Charles Poldark (Freddie Wise).

"She meets Geoffrey Charles and they become very good friends. Cecily is always so serious and is constantly trying to make a difference, to inflict change and achieve things, but Geoffrey Charles opens up to her in a way she has never experienced, and because of that she relaxes around him and is able to act her age a bit more.

Within the relationship she doesn’t take on the typical role of the girl. She is the one telling him what to do most of the time, and part of the reason they get on so well is because he listens to her, whereas not many people would take a 16 year-old girl seriously at that time.

Geoffrey Charles is going through a lot at the beginning of this series and doing things he shouldn’t be doing, and Cecily makes him wake up to the bigger picture and to the world that is out there. She makes him realise that what he thinks is suffering is nothing in comparison to the slaves in Honduras, who are being starved to death because it is cheaper to let them die than to try and save their lives. The two of them are so different that they bring out parts of each other that they haven’t even really explored themselves yet. That’s part of why they’re drawn to each other."

However, Ralph, her father, has every intention of marrying her off to someone for business purposes. So when he sees this interest between Cecily and Geoffrey he tries to squash it, and although they try everything they can to be together Ralph is always one step ahead."

Lily tells us what it was like working alongside fellow newcomer to the Poldark cast this series, Freddie Wise.

"We met at the chemistry read and we got on really well. He is lovely and open and at the beginning we discussed our characters and their incredible love story. The very first scene we did together was a romantic moment on a beach in Cornwall where we battled against the wind, the rain and the sand. I kept thinking I was going to fall down a sand dune at any moment and this was a monumental moment in their epic story! I was thrown in at the deep end and it was really scary but also so much fun. That was my first day on set so I guess I started with a bang."

Lily reveals she has been incredibly surprised and humbled by the support from Poldark fans already.

"I was amazed when I was in Cornwall, that even when it was cold and rainy, fans were there and would come to see us filming. I met someone who had been to every location, from Bristol to Cornwall, basically along with us. It is nice - they’re all such lovely fans. It is a bit daunting because you really want them to like you. Audiences will see a love story happen from the beginning to the end with Cecily and Geoffrey Charles and so I hope people will be rooting for them."

Foreword by Debbie Horsfield

"When I first picked up the novel Ross Poldark in 2012 I had no idea that seven years later I’d have adapted seven books and completed five series (43 hours!) of Winston Graham’s extraordinary Poldark saga.

In 2015, with great trepidation, we awaited the response to series one - knowing that the 1970s adaptation had been massively popular, and praying that we’d done justice to these amazing stories, characters and Cornwall. Fortunately the casting - Aidan (Turner), Eleanor (Tomlinson), Jack (Farthing), Heida (Reed), Luke (Norris), Kyle (Soller) and Ruby (Bentall) - found favour with audiences, and to our great delight we were asked for more.

Although none of us ever dared to look more than one series ahead, we found ourselves approaching the end of series four (and book seven, The Angry Tide) with something of a dilemma. Our cast was optioned for five series - so what to do with an 11-year time jump and five more books? We knew we’d never be able to wrap up five books in a single series, but no-one wanted to call time just yet, so we looked at another option.

In book eight (The Stranger From The Sea), 11 years down the line, we meet Ross abroad on a special mission for the government. How did he go from restless, sometimes reckless, and somewhat disillusioned MP, who despaired of ever really 'making a difference' in the world, to Special Agent Poldark, sent by the Crown to report from Portugal on the Peninsula War against Napoleon?

Winston Graham had left plenty of hints in book eight about events which had happened in those intervening years, but he gives little away about how Ross achieved that transformation. So for me it was the starting point, the way to navigate through series five. Winston Graham’s son Andrew endorsed my wish to continue his father’s methodology: looking at the historical context (Napoleonic Wars, Act of Union, fast-approaching Abolition of Slavery) and using real events and real people to drive the narrative.

So what would be our events and who would be our new characters? It seemed to me that one thing we had never met so far was a character to whom Ross really looked up to, even to the extent of hero-worship. So when I was researching the early 1800s I came across Colonel Edward Despard. Reading about him I was so reminded of Ross himself that I felt sure Winston Graham knew of him (though Andrew Graham thinks not).

Ned Despard was a war hero who, like Ross believed in justice, compassion, equality and liberty for all. His wife Catherine was a former slave from Jamaica. And her rise to be his equal, her determination in the face of prejudice and scorn was uncannily reminiscent of Demelza’s own journey. As was the love and devotion both couples felt for each other. I wanted Ned to be part of Ross’ journey towards greater maturity, to be the salutary lesson, his 'there but for the grace of God'.

Tracing Despard and Catherine’s real life story, intertwining it with Ross and Demelza’s and seeing them deal with the consequences of that entanglement, forms the spine of series five and introduces on the way other real-life characters such as James Hadfield (would-be assassin of George III), William Wickham (founder of the British foreign secret service) and Joseph Merceron (the 'Godfather' of East London). Inextricably involved with Ross and Demelza’s journey are Ross’s nemesis George Warleggan, as well as friends and allies Dwight and Caroline Enys, Sam, Drake and Morwenna Carne.

It feels strange, and a little sad, to be approaching the transmission of series five knowing that we won’t be returning to Cornwall, but it’s been an extraordinary journey for all of us and we feel truly fortunate to have lived with these characters and stories for so long. What’s next for me? A contemporary series. Watch this space. Not a tricorn in sight. I’m excited for the next project - but I’ll miss that Cornish surf!"

Character Descriptions

Ross
Ross hoped to put London behind him to focus on peaceful, family life, but a plea from his old Army Colonel, Ned Despard, compels him to the capital to help. As Ross’ world becomes entangled with the Despards', new alliances and old enemies threaten his loved ones and the nation itself, testing our hero’s resolve like never before.

Demelza
As she grows into her role of Cornwall’s beloved defender, Demelza is still looking out for the less fortunate of her world. But when the Despards enter her life, Demelza finds there are repercussions to getting involved: Cornwall needs her own help now more than ever, and new forces threaten all she holds dear.

Drake
Although he has finally married and settled down with Morwenna, Drake yearns to mend the wounds of her past. As the journey to wedded bliss proves uncertain, Drake’s love is tested. How far is he truly willing to go?

Sam
Sam is rising in the community and is admired as a leader. When Tess Tregidden makes it her mission to cause trouble, Sam makes it his to convert her wayward soul. As he helps Demelza in the community, an unexpected romance blossoms for him too.

Morwenna
Though reconciled with Drake in marriage, Morwenna struggles with intimacy, in the wake of her life with her brutish former husband. With the loss of John Conan still haunting her, Morwenna finds her old life overlapping with her new, but as the community come to rely on her she grows into a new role with a hope she had not foreseen.

Geoffrey Charles
Following his mother’s death, Geoffrey takes his future into his own hands and follows in Ross’ footsteps by joining the military. His path takes him to the capital, where an unlikely attraction finds him in the dangerous waters of forbidden love... 

George
Haunted by the loss of Elizabeth, George looks for his missing spark as he forges onward. His journey sees him entering into an alliance with merchant Ralph Hanson, whose business in the mahogany trade and influence in London promises to expand the Warleggan empire around the world.

Dwight
The future holds great promise for Dwight, who has finally gained recognition in his field. However, the arrival of the Despards comes to drive an ever-growing wedge between him and Ross, testing Dwight’s loyalty to his closest friend and the strength of his bond with Caroline.

Caroline
Caroline finds a new distraction in championing the Despards, but old insecurities arise as she joins her friends against their common enemy and finds she must battle with her demons once again.

Prudie
Having settled into her role in the Poldark family, Prudie is trusted to run the home and family in their stead. With new enemies emerging, Prudie‘s role as Nampara’s guardian becomes more important than ever and she must employ all her cunning to help save their world from being upturned.

Ned
An ex-army colonel and Ross and Dwight’s’ ranking officer in American Revolutionary War, Ned was made the governor of British Honduras, where he took a former slave as his wife and tried to implement policies ahead of his time. But when he locked horns with corrupt forces in his posting, Ned was recalled to London and locked away in Coldbath Fields prison, without a fair hearing, leaving him hungry for liberty, vindication and revenge.

Kitty
A former slave, Kitty fell in love with her master, Edward 'Ned' Despard, whom she married. In her fight to exonerate her husband, Kitty finds allies in our heroes and her resilience gains their admiration, as she carves a determined path through the moral corruption that surrounds them.

Tess
A former employee of Trenwith, when Tess suddenly finds herself without the means for an honest life, she harbours revenge against the upper classes. Bitter in her quest for a better life, Tess becomes a persistent thorn in our heroes’ sides, and her machinations threaten the stability of their homes.

Cecily
The daughter of Ralph Hanson, Cecily is a staunch supporter of the abolitionist movement, putting her at odds with her family and peers. Educated and independent, Cecily is ahead of her time. In pursuit of her own brand of happiness Cecily falls in love with a man in league with her father’s rivals, testing family loyalties as she tries to make her future her own.

Ralph Hanson
Father of Cecily and a wealthy mahogany merchant, Ralph Hanson seeks a new backer to fund his enterprise abroad. To this end he enters an alliance with the Warleggans, and crosses swords with our heroes when his dealings come to impact upon their lives.

Joseph Merceron
Joseph is a powerful and enterprising magistrate with connections and influence throughout the social and political tiers of London.

Related Programme Information

• Episode one
• Episode two