Outlander's Caitriona Balfe: 'I'm so lucky to work with Sam Heughan'

"Sam and I have been such good friends and we always have each other's back. I think it's been a really amazing working relationship and that will be a really, really hard thing to say goodbye to."

When asked for the things she loves the most about working with Heughan, Balfe said: "Just he's easy and we've always had this really easy working relationship."

She continued: "We had a big long walk right before we started filming way back in season 1 and we were kind of like, 'Look, we don't know what this is going to be but you and I have got to be partners in this, we've got to have each other's backs because we're the only two people who are going to experience this in the same way'.

"And we've stuck to that and that's been, I think, the best thing.”

She went on: "In general, we just support each other and he's always been a supporter. We try and make it about the work, but we also keep it light – that’s one thing I love about Sam, he’s super focused and he’s super concentrated when he needs to be but when he's not, he's able to let it go and just have fun, and that keeps it really light on set."

Read more:

• Outlander season 7 trailer teases American Revolution
• Outlander stars tease season 7 as Sam Heughan promises "best yet"

Season 7 of course marks the penultimate season before Outlander wraps up with its eighth and final season, which has been impacted by the ongoing writers' strikes in the US.

But that won't be the final outing for Outlander as a whole, as new prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood has been announced and will chronicle the the love story of Jamie Fraser’s parents, Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie.

In the meantime, we can expect a typically edge-of-your-seat watch with season 7, as Balfe also told RadioTimes.com that season 7 was "such an epic season", saying: "There's just so much that happens this year. But yeah, well hopefully, I think the fans will be happy."

She added: "There’s a lot of peril this season and a lot of things happen."

Season 7 is based on Diana Gabaldon's An Echo in the Bone and from the first-look clips that have been released, it could possibly mark some good news for Jamie and Claire.

The season's official synopsis says: "Following the harrowing events of season 6, Jamie and Young Ian race to rescue Claire before she’s tried and wrongfully convicted for the murder of Malva Christie but their mission is complicated by the beginning of a geopolitical firestorm: The American Revolution has arrived.

"In the seventh season of Outlander, Jamie, Claire, and their family are caught in the violent birth pains of an emerging nation as armies march to war and British institutions crumble in the face of armed rebellion.

"The land the Frasers call home is changing – and they must change with it. In order to protect what they’ve built, the Frasers have to navigate the perils of the Revolutionary War. They learn that sometimes to defend what you love, you have to leave it behind.

"As the conflict draws them out of North Carolina and into the heart of this fight for independence, Jamie, Claire, Brianna, and Roger are faced with impossible decisions that have the potential to tear their family apart."

Outlander season 7 premieres on 16th June on Lionsgate+ – sign up for a 7-day free trial, £5.99 a month after trial. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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