CORSHAM has been left disappointed after the BBC confirmed that filming for the second series of Poldark will not take place in the town.

The High Street was transformed into 18th century Cornwall last May, when the film cast and crew took over the town as one of several locations for the eight part period drama series.

It saw pub the Flemish Weaver turn into the Red Lion and the Corsham Post Office become a fine art shop, carriages also decked out the cobbled roads, which featured heavily in the BBC One drama.

But now, as filming for the second series starts next month, the BBC has said that it will not be returning to Corsham which has come as a shock to many traders.

Daniel Grace, landlord of the Flemish Weaver, said he expects his trade to fall following the news.

He said: “The series was quite special to the town and it still is because the Post Office still has Poldark postcards in its window and I’m guessing a lot of traders have spent a lot of money on promoting the series and their business.

“The pub was featured quite a bit and we do get a lot of people asking questions about the filming so it is very disappointing and it will probably dip our trade a bit as you get people following Poldark and if they film elsewhere then people are likely to follow.”

The tourism interest which followed the series saw the town council create a behind-the-scenes photography exhibition which attracted a large number of visitors since it opened in March.

Town council chairman Ruth Hopkinson said: “It is extremely disappointing but what we understand is that they are cutting down on the production costs. What they have done is look through the scripts and decided they do not need any outside shots.

“My impression was is that if they need outside shots then they will undoubtedly have many on the cutting room floor from when they filmed in Corsham last year and so if any are used I imagine they will be using those.

“There are all sorts of rumours going around the town about complaints from when they were here last and all of that is rubbish. It is just about production costs.”

She added that despite the news, she is hopeful that if the second series is as popular as the first then producers will look to come back to the town in the future.

The show, based on the novels of Winston Graham, first aired on BBC One in 1975 and followed the tale of Cornish mine owner Ross Poldark’s his return from the American War of Independence.

Series two will be based on the third and fourth books of Winston Graham's series and it has been confirmed that Aidan Turner will return as Poldark and Eleanor Tomlinson as Demelza.

Producer of the show, Margaret Mitchell, said Corsham offered a great landscape to Poldark and she thanked residents for being 'incredibly accommodating and understanding of the film crew’s need to transform a contemporary town into the busy 18th Century Cornish town of Truro'.

She added: “For this series, there are other demands on the visuals for the production, and so the decision has been made to create the Truro world using other streets plus integrating the harbour element of Charlestown in Cornwall.

“Creative aspirations always play a largest part in the decision making of any production. We’re really sorry not to be able to return, but the filming of a second series means that we are looking to add other visual value and enjoyment for the audience, and hope that the choices we make this year will fulfil that.”

Despite the disappointing news, Corsham could see Doctor Who take over the town after producers were found to be eyeing up locations for future filming scenes in the upcoming series.