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Only one actor is right to play the lead role in the £10million remake of 70s drama Poldark, fans say.

The Poldark Appreciation Society want BBC bosses to sign up North and South hunk Richard Armitage, 41.

The 500 members – fans of the Winston Graham novels set in 18th century Cornwall – took a vote.

Armitage — Lucas North in TV’s Spooks and Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit movies — was the clear winner to take on Robin Ellis’s role as Ross Poldark.

Society founder Val Adams said: “I knew Winston Graham for more than 20 years and I am convinced he would approve of Richard wholeheartedly.”

The BBC may want to take heed – when ITV cast John Bowe as Ross for an attempted re-make in 1996, the Society marched through the streets in protest and the show was an expensive disaster.

Val added: “The ITV fiasco was a flop which could have been avoided if they had listened to the people that know Poldark inside out.

“A new series of Poldark is long overdue and if done correctly should be a massive hit.”

The six-part romantic saga, adapted from the novels of Winston Graham, will return on BBC1 next year.

The Society would also like to see Bill Bailey as Jud Paynter, Pam Ferris as Prudie, Ciaran Hinds as Warleggan and EastEnders actress Jo Joyner as Poldark’s true love Elizabeth.

They were unable to decide who should land the role of Poldark’s wife Demelza, played in the original by the late Angharad Rees.

Set in late 18th century Cornwall, the story tells how dashing Captain Ross Poldark returns to his estate from war, looking forward to a reunion with his family and love of his life Elizabeth.

Instead he discovers his father has died, his home in ruin and overrun by drunken servants, and Elizabeth, believing him to be dead, betrothed to his cousin.

Poldark marries urchin Demelza after getting her pregnant, but his love for Elizabeth never dies.

The 29-episode 70s series was one of the most successful ever British television adaptations and was sold to more than 40 countries around the world.

The original cast from 1975 included Pirates of the Caribbean star Kevin McNally as the brother of Poldark’s wife, Christopher Biggins as a nasty vicar and Trudi Styler as a bad girl.

Casting for the new series will begin shortly.