Here’s why Jud Paynter isn’t in the third season of ‘Poldark’

Poldark star Phil Davis has revealed why he’s not appearing in the show’s new season.

The 63-year-old English actor played Ross’s miserable (and usually drunk) manservant Jud Paynter in the first two seasons of the BBC’s hit period drama series.

However, in Season 3 – which is currently airing on BBC One in the UK on Sunday nights and arrives in the US on PBS in October – Jud is nowhere to be seen.

Phil Davis explained: “The truth of the matter is Poldark got in touch with me, with my agent, before [Season 3] and said, ‘We don’t have much of a storyline for you so if you’re in the series it won’t be the whole thing, it will be a couple of episodes really’.

“There’s so much serious stuff going on in this [season] of Poldark, the little comic scenes get in the way, I think.”

Davis said: “So it was good of them to tip me the wink so I could look for other stuff. And I was offered [Sky drama series] Riveria which I was in for eight out of the ten episodes, so it seemed sensible to do that. And I couldn’t do both as they were shot at the same time.”

He’s hopeful that Poldark fans haven’t seen the last of Jud though, adding: “I haven’t said I won’t come back and they haven’t said it’s out of the question. He hasn’t been killed off or anything.”

The writer of Poldark revealed recently that there are currently no firm plans for a fifth season of the show.