Lucifer star Tom Ellis reveals he missed out on major Outlander role

In an interview with Outlander's Sam Heughan for Square Mile, Ellis revealed he auditioned for the part of Frank Randall/Black Jack Randall, eventually played by Tobias Menzies, on the Starz series.

"I'm going to let you into a little secret. I auditioned for Outlander," he said. "Not for Jamie Fraser, but for Tobias Menzies' part."

"I remember reading the script thinking, 'This is really good.'"

Heughan, who plays Jamie Fraser on the show, replied: "I'm not sure how I'd have felt having you, I don't know, assault me, shall we say," referring to the season one finale's storyline which saw Randall torture and rape Fraser.

"That would have been tricky," Ellis said, before Heughan chipped in: "Actually, you would have been brilliant... because Frank Randall is this charming, loveable character and then Black Jack – the other part you would have had to play – is just violent."

"It's a great part. Tobias, of course, does an amazing job. but that would have been so different," Heughan added.

Filming for the sixth series of Outlander is currently underway, with the series drawing inspiration from Diana Gabaldon's novels of the same name.

In an interview with Radio Times magazine earlier this month, Heughan teased the show's upcoming series, revealing: "There are some new characters who are friends and there are new foes too but we're also building up to the War of Independence."

As for future series, Heughan said that "as long as people keep wanting to watch us, then we'll keep making [Outlander]", while, on Twitter, he confirmed the series would be back for a seventh season, writing: "Congrats to Starz, the cast and crew and of course, HUGE thank you to our fans! delighted!!"

Outlander seasons 1-5 are available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Sign up for Amazon Prime for £7.99 a month with a 30-day free trial. You can order Diana Gabaldon's book Outlander on Amazon. Alternatively, check out our TV Guide.