Aidan Turner talks 'Rivals' nod to shirtless scene in 'Poldark'

Aidan Turner has unintentionally recreated an iconic scene from his hit drama Poldark in his new show Rivals.

In Poldark, Turner’s character Ross Poldark appeared shirtless on a beach, and many other scenes, which made him into a Hollywood hunk.

The heartthrob will once again be shirtless in a scene for his new Disney+ series Rivals.

Rivals is an adaptation of Jilly Cooper's iconic novel and boasts an ensemble cast including David Tennant, Emily Atack, Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson, Oliver Chris and Claire Rushbrook.

The series depicts the highly competitive world of television in the ‘80s, featuring the battle between the characters Rupert Campbell-Black (Hassell) and Lord Tony Baddingham (Tennant).

Turner will be seen in the show as an intelligent TV presenter named Declan O'Hara, who ditches the BBC for independent channel Corinium, ending up regretting his decision.

In a hilarious and iconic nod to Poldark, a fictional TV show in Rivals titled Four Men Went to Mow will feature the actor topless. He yells: “TV can't just be men taking their tops off!”

Turner revealed his reaction when he read the script, telling The Times Culture Magazine: “When I read the script, I was like, 'Why have you put this in? It's too close [to Poldark].’”

“But then they told me it's in the original books - and it's so funny. The first time I did that scene, people were laughing. It's good to poke fun at these things.”

Rivals’ trailer dropped in June this year, and the show will land on Disney+ on October 18.