Poldark star Beatie Edney has revealed that she accidentally set herself on fire in a terrifying freak accident. On Thursday (August 13), the 63-year-old BBC actress took to Instagram to share the scary incident that occurred while she was cooking in her kitchen. She shared a snap of her heavily burnt and singed top online to show just how "dangerous" the accident was.
What Happened in the Kitchen
Edney explained in her post: "Hi, I'm OK, but I just did a very stupid and dangerous thing. When I was turning off my hob, my flimsy cotton shirt caught fire. I managed to rip it off, burning my hair on the way. This is the result of the burning; it was a favourite shirt! Was!!! Be careful out there, folks."
Fans quickly flooded the comments with support. One user wrote: "Oh wtf... very scary," while another agreed: "Thank goodness you're ok." A third commented: "Gosh!! You were very lucky you were not badly burnt. Take great care."
Previous Poldark Premiere Controversy
The incident comes after the TV star blasted BBC bosses for failing to invite her to the premiere of the next series of Poldark, and claimed her age played a part in their decision. Edney has played housekeeper Prudie Paynter in the BBC One series since 2015.
But in 2019, the star was noticeably missing from the red carpet when the fifth series was screened in Cornwall, where the show is filmed. She claimed that the BBC had not asked her to come, and said not to "blame" her.
Statement and Retraction
Edney fumed at the time: "Although mainly middle-aged women are the audience for the show, we struggle to be represented in the media. That will probably get me into lots of stick, but it's true." Fans rallied around her and said BBC bosses should be "ashamed" of their actions. The corporation strongly denied having invited her to the event and issued a statement addressing her claims.
The statement read: "We'd have loved to have Beatie at our event, so we're surprised by this because we were told she couldn't attend." Following the BBC's statement, Edney retracted her earlier claim and admitted she had been invited to the series five premiere, but it came too late for her to attend. She added: "I was invited to the event, but it was too late for me to come along. Unfortunately, I can't come and celebrate with the rest of the Poldark family in my beloved Cornwall tonight, but I wish them the best of luck!"
