A bid to build a major film studio in Glasgow has been formally rejected by the body established by the government to deliver a facility for Scotland.

It is now understood that the new studio bid being pursued by the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise is in Cumbernauld, next to or part of the studio used by the Outlander TV series.

Film industry sources confirmed last night that the Cumbernauld location where the major US show is based - yet to be shown in the UK - will be the site where a new studio, backed by public cash, will be based.

Yesterday Scottish Enterprise said they were working on a deal with a mystery bid which could be signed in eight weeks, without revealing where the facility would be based.

Meanwhile, Gillian Berrie, the leading film producer and head of Sigma Films, confirmed last night that Film City's bid to build a studio in the Govan area of Glasgow had been rejected.

Last night she said she was troubled and disappointed by the way the Film City bid for a studio had been handled.

She said: "We were verbally informed that our proposal would not be taken forward - 30 mins before Fiona Hyslop appeared before the [Parliament] inquiry yesterday.

"That four years of hard work, research, advocacy and consultation by Film City can been be distilled into a short 'thanks but no thanks' meeting, minutes before a major government inquiry, is very troubling.

"Equally disappointing was the fact that our meeting was convened with the pretext of SE being 'keen to explore some of the ideas you have suggested in recent media articles'."

She added: "Pacific Quay provides phenomenal opportunity, near a city-centre where it has the automatic and guaranteed support of infrastructure, accommodation, the metrics of place, connectivity and accessibility, where sustainability can be fully realised.

"We believe location is absolutely critical to its cultural and economic success.

"Others agree - a recent petition was signed by the likes of Ewan Macgregor, Jack O'Connell, Peter Mullan and more than 1600 people from within the industry in support of bringing our studio vision to Glasgow."