Poldark star Eleanor Tomlinson bullied at school for being 'too posh'

Eleanor Tomlinson is fast becoming television's newest period drama darling as she stars as the flame-haired Demelza in the acclaimed romantic saga Poldark.

But the Yorkshire-born star has revealed she was not always so popular - having been fiercely bullied as a schoolgirl for being "too posh".

At 22, Tomlinson is already a seasoned actress, with film credits dating back to when she was just 11.

Much of her teens were spent flitting from classroom to film set, where she rubbed shoulders with Hollywood stars such as Edward Norton, for the 2006 film The Illusionist.

"Working wasn't the problem - I loved that bit," Tomlinson said.

"But when I went back to school I found I was a square peg in a round hole and I was bullied a lot because of it. I was told I'd got too big for my boots, whereas in fact, I was incredibly shy.

"I was accused of being too posh because during stints away from home any trace of a Yorkshire accent would fade away."

The actress was a pupil at an all-girls comprehensive in East Yorkshire - Beverley High School.

She told The Mail on Sunday's You magazine that the bullying was "psychological warfare" and "really hard to cope with".

She said it would take "the weirdest forms".

"For example, people would come up to me and shout the name of the project I happened to have been working on and then just walk away," Tomlinson said. "It's incredible how horrible girls can be."

(China Daily 03/21/2015 page24)