TV show’s £150k for Covid lab
Outlander bosses have spent more than £150,000 building a private Covid testing centre at their Scottish studios.
The hub has been erected to regularly test cast and crew members for coronavirus so filming of the new series of the hit show can start.
It has been built in the car park of Wardpark Film Studios in Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire, where the time travel drama is filmed.
Staff, including stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, are to be given £150 rapid lateral flow tests up to three times a week, with employees only allowed to continue working if their result is negative.
Pre-production for the sixth series has begun and its cast are due to begin filming this month.
A source said: “The makers of Outlander are taking no chances and invested heavily y in this lab. The bill is going to be huge.
“They not only y want to ensure the safety of the e cast and crew but want to ensure there are no delays in filming.”
Outlander charts the adventures of Claire Randall, a former World War II nurse played by Irish star Caitriona Balfe.
Randall is on a trip to Scotland in 1945 when she’s transported back in time to 1743. It is here, on the cusp of the Jacobite rising, that she meets Jamie Fraser, played by Heughan. The show has been a big hit for USbased network Starz.
Screen Scotland said: “Scotland’s film and TV industry is committed to working to stringent Covid-19 codes of practice.”
Starz did not respond to our request for comment.