George Osborne has revealed he is secretly addicted to hit BBC series Poldark – and confessed to a crush on its female lead character Demelza . The Chancellor claimed the 'one hour ' a week he had allowed himself off each week during the election campaign was to watch the programme , starring Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson . He vowed to maintain tax relief on big TV productions which have encouraged the makers of Poldark and other series to choose the UK . Scroll down for video . Mr Osborne admitted that he was secretly addicted to hit BBC series Poldark , starring Aidan Turner . The Chancellor said the television show was a 'fantastic advert for Britain ' and particularly Cornwall . ' I have n't seen the original series from the 70s , so it 's all new . It 's a fantastic advert for Britain and British talent – and also for Cornwall , ' the Chancellor told the Daily Mail . ' I am sure many visitors will flock to Cornwall from around the world when they see these wonderful scenes of Poldark riding along the cliffs . 'It has been the one hour off during the whole of this campaign . I keep my 9pm on a Sunday clear for that . It 's fantastic . It 's the very best of British television . ' Asked whether he was was on 'team Demelza ' or 'team Elizabeth ' , the Chancellor confessed : ' I 'm bit of a Demelza fan , it has to be said . ' Mr Osborne confessed to a crush on its female lead character Demelza , played by Eleanor Tomlinson . Mr Osborne said he was 'delighted ' that the series had been shot in Britain . 'Frankly , under the tax regime I inherited a production like this would have gone somewhere else in Europe , like Ireland or on the Continent , ' he said . ' I said I wanted the best TV done in this country . It 's about creating jobs . I think this series is going to run and run . ' It is understood that tax credits introduced by the Treasury to encourage programme-makers to choose the UK has been worth more than £2 million to Mammoth Screen , the production company behind Poldark . Sources close to the company say that without the incentive , it would have been filmed in Ireland . Instead , it is going back to Cornwall for a second series . Poldark has attracted as many as seven million viewers , helping BBC1 to its highest ratings share for the first quarter of the year in a decade .
Chancellor said show was a 'fantastic advert for Britain and British talent ' He confessed to having a crush on its female lead character Cornwall . Vowed to maintain tax relief on big TV productions which have encouraged the makers of Poldark and other series to choose the UK .