Annette Badland, the seasoned actress known for her portrayal of Mrs Fitz in the hit series Outlander, opened up about her experiences working with co-stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe – giving fans the insight they’re so eager for.

71-year-old Anette has become an understated icon in the industry, with an impressive career spanning theatre to television.

Speaking of her time on the set of the time-travelling show, Badland expressed her fondness for both Heughan and Balfe: “I adore both of them” reports SheKnows.

She recounted her initial encounter with Heughan, saying: “Sam was the first person I met. I was cast way before other people. Sam, myself, and Tobias (Menzies) were the only three cast. I went for a costume fitting and Sam walked in the door.”

Reflecting on that moment, she humorously remarked: “Apart from going, ‘Ohhh! I’ll just lean on this desk for a moment,'” followed by laughter.

But it wasn’t just his looks that impressed her; it was his character: “He just blew me away, because he was honest and inclusive, and very well-mannered, and that was the thing that really took me.”

“He is a handsome man, but it was his personality and his generosity that just I kind of went, ‘Oh. This is a good and unusual human being.

“Normally, anyone as pretty as that, they have some arrogance. It’s hard not to be seduced into thinking you’re the best thing ever, and he didn’t have that at all,” she said with warmth.

Badland also shared her immediate connection with Balfe, despite an initially unfriendly director who later turned out to be great on set, reports the Scottish Daily Express.

“It meant that Caitriona and I really bonded and had lots of conversations. She is a tremendous person, wonderful woman, just extraordinary, and deserves all the success she’s getting.”

A big fan of the actress, she added: “We got on very, very well, Caitriona is very inclusive.”

“Caitriona would be there at the door of (my trailer), going, ‘Come and have lunch with me, come on in, let’s go for a drink tonight.’ She was tremendous, it made the work infinitely more interesting, and exciting.”

“It’s very easy to work with her, she’s emotionally connected and she’s intelligent, and she’s a fine actress.”

Annette became a fan favourite for her portrayal of the kind and cheerful Mrs Fitz, the head housekeeper of Castle Leoch, in season one of the show.

The likes of Sam Heughan have gone on to be big stars on the back of Outlander and Badland remembers Heughan and Balfe and their on-screen chemistry fondly.

“They [the producers] searched a long time for Claire. It was cast late, because they needed that chemistry, and it wasn’t happening with other people.”

“It was just very potent, you could see it. We had some rehearsals, we met socially, so it was very clear that their sense of humor they could laugh together.”

“You know, it’s a hell of a task, what they’ve been through together is enormous. You could see… I think the humour more than anything, the kind of wry-you know what I mean.”

Source: dailyrecord.co.uk

By Damyan Ivanov

My name is Damyan Ivanov and i was born in 1998 in Varna, Bulgaria. Graduated high school in 2016 and since then i'm working on wordpress news websites.