Outlander star Sam Heughan said actors were left “to their own devices” while filming intimate scenes during the show’s early years.

Speaking during an on-stage conversation with fellow Scottish actor Alan Cumming, Heughan said filming nudity was “always a negotiation” with the show’s team and “wasn’t particularly a nice one”.

Asked whether Outlander had intimacy co-ordinators, he said: “We didn’t and we were very much left to our own devices.

“In fact, dare I say, even perhaps forced to do nudity when we were not particularly happy about it.

“It was always a negotiation but it wasn’t particularly a nice one.”

The 46-year-old, who played Jamie Fraser in the long-running series, said the television industry had fewer guidelines and protections when Outlander began in 2014.

Speaking at an event at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, he said an intimacy co-ordinator was introduced during the later years of the show, describing the role as “great protection” for actors.

Cumming told the audience that “some lines have been crossed” by actors during intimate scenes in the past.

Reflecting on his own experiences as a younger performer, Heughan said actors were sometimes asked to remove clothing during auditions.

“I remember starting out as an actor and sort of going for auditions, and they’d be like, ‘Right, OK, take your top off now’, and it was awful, or you’re kissing someone you’ve just met in an audition,” he said.

“I promise you, it’s not like that anymore. It was just a different time.”

Sony Pictures Television, which produces Outlander, has been approached for comment.

Source: Press Association