Every Sunday night, women up and down the country fan themselves as they tune in to watch Aidan Turner as the ravishing, charming protagonist on BBC series Poldark.

And although the actor is humbled by the experience after winning legions of devoted fans starring in the period drama revival, he does admit that the main reason he took on the role was because he had to, financially speaking.

Speaking to OK! magazine, the handsome star said: 'I'm inherently a lazy person. I could easily sit around reading and watching TV, but there comes a time when you've got to start paying the bills again.'

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He may be lazy... but it doesn't show: Aidan Turner consistently wins over fans every Sunday night on BBC drama Poldark, but he has admitted that he is 'inherently lazy'

However, looking at his rock-hard and incredibly honed physique while on the show, during those moments he strips off, it's hard to believe that he is at all lazy.

But his enviable body, which has gained almost as many headlines as the programme itself, isn't something that comes naturally to him.

In fact, he admitted that - now he's finished filming - he's looking a lot softer.

'I worked hard for six weeks, killing myself in the gym, watching what I eat and staying away from bad food. But I would never, ever do all that if I wasn't prepping for a role. That's the only time it just happens,' he explained.

Huge role: The handsome actor stars as Captain Ross Poldark in the revival of the 1970s series, alongside Heida Reed as Elizabeth

Popular: Viewing figures have been consistently impressive for Poldark, with last weekend’s episode attracting 6.2m viewers and each of the first three installments of the eight-part breaking the six million mark

'I'm not like that now. I'm back to my usual soft self.'

Not that his fans will be disappointed in his less rock-hard physique, as long as they can see him in character as the dashing 18th century hero, Poldark.

The saga, based on Winston Graham's acclaimed novels set in Cornwall in the 18th Century, tells the story of Poldark, an Army officer who returns to England after fighting in the American War of Independence to discover that his fiancee Elizabeth (Heida Reed) had believed him dead and has moved on with his cousin.

Poldark then marries his maid, Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson), but is forever torn between the two women.

'I'm back to my usual soft self': Aidan has admitted that his honed on-screen physique has melted away somewhat, as he only trained hard for six weeks ahead of filming

And thanks to copious shirtless scenes in which he shows off his rippling muscles, Aidan has won himself a whole host of admirers.

In the second episode, the tortured and dashing Captain Ross Poldark stripped naked, much to the delight of love interest Demelza - and his adoring fans.

Hundreds of swooning admirers took to Twitter to share their excitement at seeing Turner, who also starred in The Hobbit trilogy as well as TV drama Being Human, take off his clothes before going skinny-dipping in the Cornish sea.

The racy moment has been compared to Colin Firth's lake scene from the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, in which the actor, as romantic hero Mr Darcy, emerges from the water in a soaking wet shirt.

Viewing figures have been consistently impressive in the revival - the period drama first aired in the late 1970s - with last weekend’s episode attracting 6.2million viewers and each of the first three installments of the eight-part breaking the six million mark.