Controversial question: Would Outlander be as good if its lead actors Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe didn’t have the sizzling, steamy chemistry that they have?

I don’t think it would. Sure, the epic time-travelling romance we all know and love has a lot more going for it than just the intimate scenes between Jamie and Claire. But, you know, the sex scenes are pretty great. And, more broadly, the backbone of the series is the passionate love that this star-crossed pair have for each other. The kind of love – and sex – that has you running headfirst through some time-travelling rocks in the outer Hebrides just so you can get back to your man.

As part of the home entertainment release for season three of the series, the producers have shared the first screen test with Sam and Claire, taken way back in 2013 when the show was still scrounging around for its two leads.

Heughan, a then mostly-unknown stage actor, was the first cast in July. Then came Tobias Menzies (the dastardly Frank/Jonathan Randall) was announced in August. But it would take another month until the show secured its lead: Fierce feminist, the proud Claire (Balfe).

Now we know what was going on in those intervening months. Production company Starz was rigorously testing the two lead actors to see if they had the kind of sizzling, steamy chemistry that they needed to sustain the show.

And you know what? They did.  Right from day one. This video, which was the first time Sam and Caitriona were in a room together, is incredible. Right from the start you can see the emotional connection between their characters, the passion, and, of course, the romance. This screen test is basically sexier than any of the more explicit scenes in the show’s entire three-season run.

Is it getting hot in here, or is it us? Photo: ‘Outlander’

And at the end, when the scene is over and the camera stops rolling? Well, you can see how well these two get on. No wonder they’re such good friends in real life.

As Sam himself told us: “There’s a different energy on set when she’s not there … We’ve worked together for almost four years now, very closely, every day for ten months of the year. It’s a full-time friendship. We’re very lucky that we have such a great relationship.”

Now we just have to wait until later this year for the new episodes from season four, which will premiere on Foxtel’s Showcase in September, if last year’s release date is anything to go by. Not soon enough, if you ask me.