Outlander stars cause stir with raunchy magazine cover

The Entertainment Weekly cover dedicated to Outlander that's causing a stir. Picture: Contributed

Sam Heughan and his onscreen wife, Caitriona Balfe, were pictured semi-naked apart from a kilt for a shoot ahead of the launch of the second series of the Scottish filmed-show.

Scots fans will be able to watch the latest series of the Golden Globe nominated series from 10 April on Amazon, a day after they air in the US on channel Starz.

Heughan said in the interview that he felt bad about breaking the news to people that he and Balfe are not in a real-life relationship.

“I think there was a little bit of upset by some fans,” he said. “It slightly saddens me but I guess it means that we’ve done a good job.”

He added: “We’ve had to get very close so we do trust each other very implicitly. We’re very lucky that we do have that trust and it comes across to the screen, I guess.”

The Entertainment Weekly cover sparked comments on social media as fans expressed their appreciation of the stars’s appearance.

“So hot!! Perhaps trying to kill the fans!” wrote one viewer, Aleegra, on Twitter.

Based upon the second of eight books in Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling Outlander series, entitled Dragonfly in Amber, the new series begins as Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser arrive in France determined to infiltrate the Jacobite rebellion and stop the Battle of Culloden.

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