Eleanor Tomlinson, best known for her role as Demelza Poldark in the BBC period drama Poldark, is making a notable shift away from historical settings. The 34-year-old actress is set to lead the cast in The Fortune, a gripping new psychological thriller on Channel 5, premiering on Tuesday, 2 June at 9pm.
From Period Dramas to Modern Thrills
Tomlinson played Demelza Poldark across all five seasons of Poldark from 2015 to 2019, opposite Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark. After that, she appeared in other period pieces such as The Forsytes and The Nevers. However, The Fortune marks a departure into contemporary storytelling.
In an interview with Radio Times, Tomlinson explained her decision: "I’d done it for five years. There are elements I miss, but it was time to do something else, spread my wings and push myself in a different direction."
The Fortune: Plot and Cast
The Fortune follows Amanda Blakefield, played by Tomlinson, a café worker and happily married mother whose life is turned upside down when she inherits a vast fortune from a complete stranger. The deceased man's family is furious, leading to threats and a battle over the estate.
The cast includes Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter), Callum Woodhouse (All Creatures Great and Small), Nina Wadia (EastEnders), Rebecca Front (The Thick of It), Stephen Tompkinson (DCI Banks), Paula Wilcox (Trying), Danielle Walters (Chewing Gum), and Denis Lawson (Bleak House).
What to Expect
The synopsis reads: "Amanda Blakefield’s life is a happy one, with her husband Jimmy and their son Luke. But when Amanda is left an enormous inheritance by a man she has neither met nor heard of before, her life starts to fall apart. Amanda becomes embroiled in the world of the Worralls, where Martin Worrall is head of a family bound in past secrets."
The two-part series airs on Tuesday, 2 June and Wednesday, 3 June at 9pm on Channel 5.
