The 2015 series is based on Winston Graham's Poldark novels and adapts the first seven of twelve books, following on from an earlier BBC adaptation broadcast between 1975 and 1977.

The show was one of the final commissions by former BBC One controller Danny Cohen, and each series drew on specific novels: series one adapted the first two books, series two the third and fourth, series three the fifth and part of the sixth, and series four the rest of the sixth plus the seventh, while the fifth series used an original storyline set before the eighth novel.

Filming began in Cornwall and Bristol in April 2014, with The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol serving as the production base for every series, including purpose-built interior sets for Poldark's home 'Nampara' and The Red Lion pub.

For series four, eighteen sets were built across three studios at The Bottle Yard Studios, including five composite houses and a period-correct scale replica of the House of Commons.

Real Cornwall locations doubled for fictional places: Botallack Mine represents the 'Wheal Leisure' mine, Charlestown stood in for the city of Truro, and Chavenage House near Tetbury was used as Trenwith, a house that had also appeared in other period dramas like Wolf Hall and Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

Underground mine scenes were filmed at the actual Poldark Mine in Cornwall, while some interior scenes were shot at Prior Park College in Bath.

The series' theme music was composed by Anne Dudley.

Winston Graham's daughter, Rosamund Barteau, praised the adaptation, saying her father would have been very pleased and that Debbie Horsfield had done an excellent job staying true to his words.