THE star of the Outlander TV series, Sam Heughan, has spoken of his support for Scottish independence and his disappointment at the result of the recent referendum.

Heughan, who plays the key role of Jamie Fraser in the US series, which has recently become available to viewers in Scotland on the Amazon Prime streaming service, said that initially he was not a supporter of Scotland leaving the UK.

However, he soon became "very much for Yes", he has told the Wall Street Journal.

In an online video interview he said: "When I first heard about the arguments I very much thought it wasn't a great idea but just having spent some time there and discussing it more, I thought it was a chance for more democracy in Scotland."

The actor, from Dumfries and Galloway, added: "It just seemed that the people of Scotland would have more control over what happened to them, unfortunately the vote went the other way, it was pretty close.

"But it has got people involved in politics again."

Heughan's character in the series, a Gaelic-speaking Highlander, is the love interest of time-travelling heroine Claire Randall, played by Caitriona Balfe.

Heughan has spent many months in Scotland recently, shooting the first series of Outlander, made by Sony Television and the Starz network in the US, and is returning for the second series this year.

His co-star, Tobias Menzies, who is English, was also asked about the independence referendum.

Menzies, who plays both Frank Randall and Black Jack Randall, said he was conflicted about the vote as he felt Britain would be "lesser without Scotland".

However he said spending many weeks in Scotland last year "it was hard not the feel the excitement and by the end I could really feel the disappointment...I am sure it will be a decision that will be revisited in the future."