Starring opposite Aidan Turner in BBC’s hit period drama Poldark made flame-haired Eleanor Tomlinson a household name.
But after five series of playing Demelza, Eleanor was understandably keen to reinvent herself, and you couldn’t get much further from Cornwall and corsets than her latest TV venture, the dystopian Sky One sci-fi drama Intergalactic.
The eight-part series follows a group of female convicts, including alien drug mule Candy (Tomlinson), who are being transported to a prison planet on a spaceship.
One of them is falsely imprisoned cop, Ash (Savannah Steyn), whose mother Rebecca (ER’s Parminder Nagra) is a high-ranking official in the global authority known as the Commonworld and is desperate to clear her daughter’s name. But before Ash can be released, the other prisoners take over the ship and blast off in search of freedom…
Here Eleanor, 28, gives us the lowdown on her futuristic new adventure.
Eleanor Tomlinson on Intergalactic's appeal
"It's just so different from anything I've done. It's beyond modern, it’s futuristic, and it also has some dark comedy. The first day I walked on set, I was actually on a spaceship. I thought: 'This is so cool!'"
Eleanor Tomlinson on moving on from Poldark
"I needed a breath of fresh air, and something different to shake things up. Not that I haven't loved Poldark — I've learned so much from it. But it would have been a mistake for me to go into something similar, as I don't want to be typecast."
Eleanor Tomlinson or her alien character, Candy
"She’s an alien and a drug addict, and pretty reckless in her behaviour, as she goes through stages of being high, and then not able to get the drugs. She’s a wild, provocative character, who’s been very fun to play!"
Eleanor Tomlinson on Candy's outlandish appearance
"I wanted to look very different in this, and didn't want to be redheaded, as I think we've seen that before! I have prosthetic scales on my face, which are actually 3D, so that was really cool! But to get it all on and off took a good four hours a day in make-up!"
When can I watch Intergalactic?
The eight-part series will be available on Sky One and NOW TV from Friday April 30.
