Outlander’s Brianna Fraser is among the main stars of the iconic romance drama but what is there to know about actress Sophie Skelton’s life away from the show?
Season seven, part two, is now underway on MGM+ via Prime Video in the UK and Starz in the US, once again following the Fraser family throughout time.
Brianna Fraser (played by Sophie Skelton) found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place after Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) demanded sex in exchange for the safe return of her son Jemmy.
And with tense scenes set to air this week, here’s all there is to know about the star behind Brianna away Outlander.
Different career
Born in Woodford, in March 1994, Sophie is the daughter of Simon and Ruth Skelton who both work as toy inventors, reportedly creating games for brands such as Disney and Hasbro. She is the youngest of three children, with two older brothers called Sam and Roger.
Sophie has been interested in a number of career paths over the years, including a ballerina, having studied at the Royal Academy of Ballet, and trialled for the national hockey squad.
However, she also seriously considered a life in the medical profession, explaining to Harper’s Bazaar: “I wanted to be a surgeon for quite a long time as well, so I studied biology, chemistry, maths, English, further maths, all of that.
“So I think my parents were actually quite disappointed when I wanted to take the acting route.
“They love it now. They really like Outlander actually, so they were thrilled when I got the job.”
Acting debut
Sophie was a child actress, first appearing in a couple of episodes of ITV drama DCI Banks in 2012 when she was about 18.
It was then the following year that she played a character called Esme in the Tracy Beaker spin-off series The Dumping Ground and then Waterloo Road as Eve Boston.
Some of her other roles included Doctors, Foyle’s War, So Awkward, Casualty and Ren, before joining the cast of Outlander in 2016 as Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire Fraser’s (Caitriona Balfe) daughter Brianna Fraser.
On set injuries
During an Instagram Live Q&A, Sophie shared a dangerous on set incident with fellow co-star Caitriona Balfe. She said: “I nearly set myself on fire. It actually went down my corset at one point, a little endless spark down my corset.”
Caitriona laughed: “That was a funny day, I’m sure some of that will make it in the bloopers.”
Sophie continued: “It’s when we’re all together isn’t it? It’s a really bad recipe for giggle-fest disasters.”
This isn’t the first time Sophie has spoken about being “accident prone”, sharing a photo of a heavily bandaged finger but didn’t give away how it happened. She added: “Accident prone Soph strikes again. Icing on the cake: A fractured finger [sic].”
It was two years ago that Sophie was also rushed to hospital for emergency dental work. This trip resulted in the extraction of damaged teeth and the removal of part of her jawbone, and she later shared a picture of her swollen face with her followers.
Famous ex
While it is believed that the 30-year-old is currently single, she was previously in a relationship with a co-star.
Sophie was in a long-term relationship with Rambo: Last Blood actor Jeff Gum, who she met while filming the horror film Day of the Dead: Bloodline in 2017.
The pair preferred to keep their relationship relatively private so it is unclear when the couple broke up.
What’s next
While the end is now in sight for Outlander, the actress already has another project lined up in the shape of a psychological thriller.
Entitled Row is a film about a “failed trans-Atlantic WR attempt”, when a woman washes ashore on a rowing boat and all of her crew mates are missing and presumed dead. It is then up to her to try and piece together her “fractured memories of the ordeal to prove her innocence”.
So far, a release date hasn’t been announced with the film still in post-production.
Outlander season seven, part two, continues every Friday on MGM+ via Prime Video in the UK and Starz in the US.