Outlander's Caitriona Balfe leaves fans emotional with tribute to 11 years as Claire

Outlander star Caitriona Balfe has just wrapped up 11 years portraying Claire Fraser and fans have been left inconsolable.

Her on-screen partner Sam Heughan, who portrays the courageous Highland soldier Jamie Fraser, has confirmed the cast will be returning to set soon for the last "pick ups" for the show's eighth and final season in an interview on the Today show.

However, their journey with Starz's epic historical crime drama is sadly almost at an end, with the second half of the penultimate seventh season coming up next month.

During the cast's recent appearance at New York Comic Con, Balfe shared some heartfelt thoughts about her experience working with Heughan for all these years.

"Our friendship and our working partnership has been really special and really important for us," she said.

"We made a pact at the very beginning that we would always have each other's backs and I think we've stuck to that.

"But it's been such an honour to be able to play characters and watch them grow and be able to build a life with them. You know, every time you do a scene it's a memory. You're sort of filling that memory bank and as an actor, that character just grows inside you."

Sharing one of their secrets to ensuring they did justice to their characters, Balfe explained: "I think we always try and make sure that we connect and talk about what the scenes are and make sure we feel like they're authentically Claire and Jamie and our writers do the same.

"It's just been such a privilege to do it for this long."

Heughan couldn't help concurring with Balfe's thoughts, adding an enthusiastic, "Hear, hear".

When footage of the panel was shared on Outlander's official Instagram page, scores of fans took to the comments to send their appreciation for Balfe and Heughan's pitch-perfect job of embodying the iconic Frasers.

One viewer replied: "What an iconic TV couple. Not another like them.

"So special to see their bond is so real off the screen which makes it believable and special on screen. Thanks Cait and Sam."

"Such extraordinary people!" another agreed. "How lucky are we to have been privy to this magic, their friendship, Claire and Jamie and this show?!"

A third fan replied: "She expressed it perfectly! Claire and Jamie will forever be a part of our memories and hearts."

Another passionate Outlander devotee said: "They've literally given their souls to these characters and it shows [love heart emoji] best duo ever!"

And a final fan added: "We are the luckiest fans in the history of fans!!

"Hands down these two are the absolute best Jamie and Claire we could ever ask for. And, they are also the best, most incredible human beings."

Outlander season seven part two premieres on Friday, November 22, on MGM+ via Prime Video in the UK and on Starz in the US.