BBC to challenge Downton with Poldark remake Poldark, (Robin Ellis), ends up marrying his servant, the unlikely-looking Demelza, played by Angharad Rees, who died last year from cancer. The BBC's much-anticipated 2010 relaunch of Upstairs Downstairs was crushed by ITV's Downton Abbey and was cancelled after just two series. ITV has also had some of its highest ratings for Mr Selfridge, which charts the life of the American tycoon behind the London shop, seeing an average of 9 million viewers an episode. Jake Kanter, a TV expert at Broadcast magazine, said: "Dramas have always been a stronghold for the BBC and ITV has had a lot of success with Downton Abbey, which will have the corporation looking over their shoulder. There is a perception ITV is out-performing the BBC in this area and it is telling of BBC strategy that they have decided to revisit Poldark, which clearly did very well in the past. The BBC had much success with the previous dramatisation of Poldark, the rights of which were sold in over 40 countries. On video, the show outsold every costume drama except for the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and viewers voted it one of the 10 best British BBC series ever broadcast. Mr Cohen, who left the post this week to become the BBC's director of television, said: "I hope audiences enjoy the range and creative ambitions of these new dramas for the channel."