'No One Can Compete With Biggins!'

Christian Brassington on stepping into Christopher Biggins’ shoes as Poldark’s villainous vicar

- Sarah Selwood

To fans of the original Poldark series, Rev Osborne Whitworth was the man they loved to hate.

So, when Christian Brassington was cast as the wicked, sex-crazed vicar, he knew he had a mammoth challenge ahead, not least because his predecessor, Christopher Biggins (see our interview below), made the character so loathsome and larger-than-life.

‘The children of the author, Winston Graham, who wrote the novels, are involved in this series and are pals with Christopher,’ says Christian, 34, in an exclusive interview with TV Times. ‘That makes for a lot of pressure, trying to measure up to the man voted most hated man on TV and the national treasure that is Christopher Biggins.’

Indeed, but there’s no disputing the fact he’s doing a grand job filling flamboyant Ossie’s breeches since making his debut in episode four.