OutlanderReturns: 10 Exclusive Photos From Our Steamy Cover Shoot

OutlanderIs Back

“I loved it,” Caitriona Balfe told EW about the South African shoot.

And the scripts were quite physically intensive.

Either you’re out on the beaches all day or traipsing through a jungle.

Ruven Afanador for EW

But I relished the chance to get down and dirty.

So it’s good."

Heughan said his character was particularly dirty – quite literally – this season.

Ruven Afanador for EW

“It’s sort of caked on him.

I go home every night covered.

“For every episode, we have four weeks of prep.

Ruven Afanador for EW

“Jamie is always covered in dirt,” confesses Heughan of his character.

“It’s sort of caked on him.

I go home every night covered.

Ruven Afanador for EW

That’s one of the joys of playing Jamie Fraser.”

Sam Heughan

Heughan loved exploring the ships and climbing up the masts.

“It was amazing to go up there, he says.

Ruven Afanador for EW

“We’ve got these very tall ships in the middle of the desert!”

Here, Balfe and Heughan strike a pose for photographer Ruven Afanador on the deck of theArtemis.

“He had these big fisherman-time pants on,” explains EW photo editor Natalie Gialluca.

Ruven Afanador for EW

“We had to be mid-thigh in the water to shoot.”

Ruven Afanador for EW

Ruven Afanador for EW

Natalie Gialluca for EW

Natalie Gialluca for EW

Ruven Afanador for EW

Ruven Afanador for EW

Ruven Afanador for EW