Caitríona Balfe, who plays Claire Fraser in Outlander, has revealed her character will "lean on some things" to get a reprieve from "the pain that she's experiencing."
Monaghan-born Balfe has starred in the sci-fi series since 2014 and has been nominated four times for a Golden Globe, won two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and an Irish Film and Television Award for the role.
After a two-year hiatus, Outlander finally returned on 6 March, with a dramatic start to season six as Jamie and Claire Fraser are met by a familiar face from Jamie's prison past.
At the end of the last series, Claire was subjected to an awful assault and this season will see her character trying to come to terms with it.
Speaking about Claire's trauma ahead of the new season returning, Balfe said: "You're holding everything very close to the surface and you’re trying to keep a lid on top of everything.
"But as we see the season progress, that’ll get harder and harder, and we see that Claire starts to lean on some things that she’s been using medically to give herself a little bit of reprieve from the pain that she’s experiencing."
Executive Producer Maril Davis added: "What happened to Claire last season was so traumatic, and we didn't want to ignore that.
"We wanted to pay respect to people who are going through these traumas and say, 'you’re not alone.’"
Balfe, who is nominated for best supporting actress at this weekend's Baftas for her role in the critically-acclaimed Belfast, announced last August on social media that she had given birth to a baby boy.
She wrote: "I've been off socials for a while as I was taking some time to enjoy cooking up this little human …. We are so grateful for this little soul ….that he chose us as his parents.
"I'm in awe of him already and can’t help stare and wonder at all the possibilities of who he will become, where he will go and what he’ll do on the big adventure of his life.
"Right now he seems so small and fragile and I constantly think how grateful I am that I live in a place, in a time where he is born into peace and safety and yet at the same time I see so many in the world right now that aren’t afforded that same privilege and opportunity … who are born into famine or war and how unjust it is that the same safety isn’t there for all children."
"Here in the west we have so much, we are so lucky and so if you’d like to join me in supporting any of the wonderful charities that need help trying to give those that are forgotten dignity and hope, we can give the gift of peace and safety and opportunity to a few more children … @wchildcancer @chooselove @unicef @refugees," she added.
The 41-year-old actress married music producer Tony McGill in 2019.
