IT was Cumbernauld-meets-Culloden as the bloody scenes from the infamous battle were recreated during filming for season three of the hit historic drama, Outlander.

The series star and heartthrob, Sam Heughan, was pictured on set yesterday with a ripped shirt and fake blood dripping down his face as the infamous clash of Jacobite and loyalist forces was re-enacted for the US series. 

Dozens of extras and enemy “redcoats” were also pictured on the set wearing battle wounds and bloody shirts – as well as the odd modern-day bottle of water – as shooting continues in Lanarkshire.

Heughan plays Highland warrior Jamie Fraser in the time-travel fantasy, based on the novels of Diana Gabaldon, which has become a huge cult success on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world. 

In the UK, fans can pay to watch the show on streaming service, Amazon Prime. 

The series follows heroine Claire Randall, played by Catriona Balfe, a former Second World War nurse who is magically transported from 1940s Scotland to 1743 after touching standing stones. 

She soon meets and falls in love with the Jacobite soldier, Fraser, played by Heughan, and becomes caught up in the Jacobite risings. 

Charles Stuart’s Jacobite forces were vanquished on Culloden Moor, near Inverness, by the loyalist Redcoat troops in 1746. 

Between 1,500 and 2,000 Jacobites were killed or wounded in the brief battle, said to have lasted about one  hour.

It was a watershed in the history of Scotland, marking the beginning of efforts to integrate the comparatively wild Highlands into British rule and culture.

Civil penalties were subsequently introduced to weaken Gaelic culture and attack the Scottish clan system.

Meanwhile, the huge success of Outlander in North America has also inspired a cookbook – and some controversy over the dishes featured in it. 

Outlanders Kitchen, written by Canadian chef and food writer Theresa Carle-Sanders, features recipes for Scottish staples like tattie scones, cock-a-leekie soup and Forfar bridies.

But food fans have been left baffled by the inclusion of American-style cuisine such as sweet potato pie, pulled pork and fish tacos.

Mr Carle-Sanders defended the move, saying people would not want to eat 18th century Highland cuisine every day.

But, Scots chef Mark Greenaway, Scotland’s food and drink ambassador, said the book sounded ‘very confused’.

He added: “I’m all for other cuisines influencing our own foods, but dishes like pulled pork and sweet potato pie are not what Scotland should be known for and proud of.”

Ben Reade, co-owner of the Edinburgh Food Studio, said that he was also “baffled” by the choice of recipes.