Outlander showrunner and star explain reasons and preparation behind graphic episode 6 scenes

Not only did the episode – which is fittingly titled Birthright – chronicle Julia's difficult birthing process whilst stuck in the 18th century without Henry (Jeremy Irvine) by her side, viewers also got a glimpse into Davina's (Sara Vickers) tragic backstory with Lord Lovat (Tony Curran).

Whilst the prospect of giving birth without access to modern medicine is already daunting enough, as we see in Blood of my Blood, Julia also faces interrogation by the accompanying midwives.

Speaking of the process and preparation she had to do to get herself into that headspace, Corfield exclusively told RadioTimes.com: “We filmed that over a week and I really geared myself up for it. When you’re on a set and you’re in one space for a really long time, the oxygen just kind of gets sucked out of the room.

"We had a gas fire going, it was such high energy. I really prepared – I had my Lucozade Sport ready to go, I’d done a lot of work kind of mapping out the birth, when the contractions come and then trying to match that to the heightening stakes and the turmoil that Julia’s going through mentally and physically.

"Because it’s one thing doing a birth scene but doing a birth scene and being tortured, interrogated, is a whole different challenge. Then also making sure that the birth scene for Claire is very different and that’s a nice contrast between the two of them.”

As we see, Corfield didn't just have to navigate one birth scene but her 18th century birth is interwoven with scenes of her 20th century home birth of Claire.

Speaking about tackling two birth scenes in one series, Corfield said that it was "daunting ... but also challenging."

She explained: "You read the scripts because you’re getting them as you go. I read that and I thought ‘Oh fantastic, this is a real acting challenge.’ Something every actor wants, something that’s a challenge that you can put a lot of work into and think about. Overall I was excited about doing them both.”

The episode also sees quite an emotional rollercoaster for Davina, who is initially suspicious of Julia and the conception of her child but ultimately stops the interrogation and leads the charge to deliver the baby safely.

A major factor in Davina's change of heart is due to experiencing her own flashbacks. We see when she was working as the solo maid for Lord Lovat, and why she adviced Julia early on in the series to make sure she was never alone with him. Davina was speaking from experience as we're shown how she was raped by Lovat on two occasions.

Read more:

• Outlander: Blood of My Blood star teases second season as prequel gets "crazier and crazier"
• Outlander: Blood of My Blood's Jeremy Irvine was initially sceptical about character romance

The graphic scenes are far from easy to watch but omitting them would be an 'injustice', Outlander: Blood of my Blood showrunner Matthew B Roberts tells RadioTimes.com.

When asked about what discussions go into how to depict such scenes within the show, Roberts explained: "It’s tough. You know you’re showing it to a modern audience but to be fair, you’re watching a period show.

"So, if we modernised that and watered down what women had to go through in that time, then I think you do slightly an injustice to what women went through in that time and what they were thought of, how they were thought of."

"A lot of them were thought of as property, even within their own families," he adds. "It was a violent time."

He continued: "It feels like you almost have to do it to give a weight to the show and the characters, to show what they have to go through. I don’t like to say ‘strong female characters’, I like to say ‘strong characters’.

"They happen to be a female, they happen to be a female. We have weak guy characters but nobody says that. You never say ‘strong male characters’, you just say ‘male characters’.

"I think this pressure that we put on them through whether it’s the violence or societal pressure, that makes our characters stronger and shows how they can overcome.”

Are there ever any conversations relating to these graphic scenes regarding what to show onscreen vs offscreen? “The goal is to tell the story," Roberts says.

"We have an amazing audience who have their own imaginations, they can fill in the gaps, we just need to show this part and this part and a lot of the time, they can fill in the gap of what happened.

"So, you don’t always need to show it but when it affects the character, that’s the conversation. When do we need to see the character go through it and when do we not?

"I don’t think it always has to be shown, I think the audience is very clever and I think they’ll fill in the gaps when needs be but there’s other times you need to show it.”

For support and advice on matters raised in this article, please visit www.rapecrisis.org.uk, call the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line on 0808 500 2222 or chat to Rape Crisis online 247sexualabusesupport.org.uk.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood premiered on Saturday 9th August in the UK on MGM+ in the UK, with episodes being released weekly. You can buy Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books on Amazon.

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