text: Tousled hair. Check. Five o'clock shadow across a lantern jaw. Check. A hint of fresh sweat? Check. The current crop of male leads smouldering all over our television screens are rocking a 'pretty but gritty' look that makes Colin Firth's erstwhile Mr Darcy look positively hygienic. Shows such as Poldark, Vikings, Outlander and Game of Thrones are dressing up their key actors in breeches, leather and chain metal and asking them to get down and dirty for their art, much to the delight of watching female fans. Battle of the breeches! Actor Kit Harington (left), clad in leather, plays Jon Snow in the hit HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones . And the dimly-lit period setting - think candlelight and flaming torches - only serves to accentuate the mean and moody looks. Aidan Turner is leading the way as Captain Ross Poldark in the BBC's much talked-about Sunday night offering. So enthralled are the viewing public by the Irish actor's good looks and rippling physique - which he shows off in plenty of topless scenes - that several Twitter handles have been dedicated to parts of Poldark's anatomy. Ongoing HBO success,  Game of Thrones has caused a similar loin-stirring frenzy among those watching with characters such as Jon Snow and Jaime Lannister perfecting the tender but rugged look. Time travel drama, Outlander, based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, flings main character Claire Randall into the arms of 18th century Highland warrior Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan. The handsome Scotsman admits he has found the ensuing attention overwhelming. And flying the flag for Nordic hunks is Travis Fimmel, who stars in the show Vikings, which charts the tumultuous rise of Viking king Ragnar Lothbrok. With his shaved hair, beard and quiff, Fimmel could be mistaken for a London hipster were he not pretending to be a Norse seafarer. So who are the actors behind this new breed of slightly grubby yet thoroughly enticing sex symbol? And do they ever wash their hair? We dig a little deeper below: . Scroll down for video . Stubble and swashbuckling: 2015 is all about the unkempt hunk. Leading the way is 'Poldark and handsome' Aidan Turner . POLDARK . Aidan Turner continues to get the nation's ladies a little breathless in his role as Captain Ross Poldark for the BBC. The star, pretty much an unknown before the hit show, has been catapulted into the spotlight with his 'Poldark and handsome' appeal responsible for soaring viewing figures. Irishman Aidan has stoked the fires somewhat himself by offering up some of the BBC beauty secrets that have transformed him into Winston Graham's hero. Aiden admitted to using baby oil to show off his well-honed pecs and even a slick of eyeliner to make his deep brown eyes stand out. Although the actor won't be drawn on his chest hair, his man rug does appear to have been pruned... ensuring Poldark is pretty but still gritty. The other Jon Snow: With his wild locks and leather outfits, actor Kit Harington has stolen hearts in Game of Thrones, pictured above with co-star Rose Leslie . Hot metal: Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau played wild-man Jaime Lannister  in Game of Thrones . GAME OF THRONES . Actors Kit Harington and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau have brought this  medieval fantasy epic to a whole new audience with their wild man antics. Not entirely dissimilar to Aidan Turner in looks, Kit Harington plays Jon Snow (no, not the tie-sporting Channel 4 news presenter)   in the HBO fantastical series and matches a smattering of stubble with dark curls and puppy dog eyes. The star has admitted to having a 'baby face underneath all of this fuzz' and that he has to stay away from the shampoo for the role, sometimes for as long as up to six weeks. Describing his less-than-attentive hair regime, he told GQ magazine last year: 'I like it to look greasy and medieval.' He admits his locks get 'very tangled' and by the end of a six-week shoot, they look 'pretty horrible.' Co-star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays bearded brute Jaime Lannister, has something of the Sean Bean in Lady Chatterley's Lover about him. Until series four when Jamie lost his right hand, his character was known as the best sword fighter in the world, cue lots of swashbuckling and rolling around in mud... all usually by torchlight. The disheveled, combative image may have been toned down a little but fans continue to trip off his every word...all of which seem to be spoken in perfect English, despite the fact that Coster-Waldau is Danish. Tartan has never looked so good: Sam Heughan plays Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser in Outlander, the adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's time-travel novels . Not a hair product in sight: Sam's looks are left free to curl any which way they choose in Outlander . OUTLANDER . Sam Heughan plays fierce-yet-tender Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser in Outlander, the adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's time-travel novels. With a thick Highland accent, Jamie wears a kilt and faces all that a Scottish soldier living 300 years ago might have had to, from being flung from a horse to having the skin flayed from his back. As a laird-turned-fighter,  Jamie's key look is 'mucking out the horses', all while wearing a skirt. His knees seem to permanently covered in mud. Of his kilt-wearing, dashing actor Sam has admitted that he liked the experience. He said previously: 'I thoroughly enjoy it. When I do have to put trousers on now, I sort of refuse and stomp my feet because riding a horse in a kilt is very liberating, very freeing actually. 'And very comfortable. Also, should you ever need to do a nature relief, go to the restroom behind a tree, it's very quick, it's very easy. I recommend it for everyone.' Swoon! Australian actor Travis Fimmel in Vikings has come a long way since his days modelling underwear for Calvin Klein...but would you mistake him for a hipster if was wearing a tight, white t-shirt? Travis first shot to fame in 2002 as the face of Calvin Klein's famous men's underwear range. His billboard posters were said to have caused traffic pile-ups in America, while the then 23-year-old became the first male model to be signed exclusively by Calvin Klein for an entire year, earning him a six-figure sum . VIKINGS . Former Calvin Klein underwear model Travis Fimmel, 35, might not look out of place wandering down Shoreditch high street when he's dressed up as Viking king Ragnar Lothbrok. With his hair shaved on the sides, a full beard on his chin and a greased-up quiff atop his head, there's certainly a distinct whiff of the hipster look him about when in character. If the clang of chain metal floats your boat then this Viking family saga is brimming with rugged idols. Not that Fimmel particularly cares for his looks. Previously known for his long hair, perfectly groomed appearance, six-pack and bulging underpants in the Calvin Klein days, the actor doesn't mind how he looks onscreen these days. He told FEMAIL: 'I don’t give a s*** about that. We’ve got a whole team to make us look good.' If anything the actor finds the deliberate dressing up something of a chore. He said: 'My hair takes 40 minutes and the costume takes 20 minutes to get into. It means I have to get up an hour earlier in the morning.'
target: Female fans captivated by new breed of 'pretty but gritty' male leads .
  Aidan Turner in Poldark perfects the rugged costume drama look .
  Other heartthrobs include Kit Harington in Games of Thrones, Sam Heughan in Outlander and Travis Fimmel in Vikings .