The actress will be taking on a different role for the new series

Outlander star Caitríona Balfe has shared some very exciting news about the upcoming eighth and final season of the historical drama. 

Speaking at the 2023 Austin Television Festival over the weekend, the actress revealed that she will be stepping behind the camera to direct an episode of the new season. 

On how she feels about taking on the new role, she said: "Very excited…very terrified!

"In prep, I've been doing a little bit of second unit stuff already. I've done some stuff in the last few months which has been so fun," she said while speaking at the Women of Outlander panel, according to Showbiz Junkies.

"Everyone has been so supportive. It's just been such a lovely place to kind of get to do this, and that's why I wanted to do it here because I know that this is a safe space."

Caitríona, who plays Claire Fraser opposite Sam Heughan's Jamie Fraser, also teased what fans can expect from the on-screen husband and wife in the upcoming seventh season, which arrives in June. "There's a lot of things that happen, a lot of bad things that happen, some great things that happen," reports Nerds and Beyond. "But through it all, they are really strong. Jamie as a character is incredibly wisened this season.

"There's a maturity to both of them this season and their passion never goes away but it does evolve."

In May, the 43-year-old star revealed that filming for the new series is due to begin in a few months' time. Speaking on the Irish chat show,, she said: "We're about to start shooting, in a few months, our eighth season but our seventh season is starting to air on June 16th on Lionsgate +."

She also revealed the impact the drama has had on her life since it first aired back in 2014. "It's changed my life. I was very late to start acting. I changed my career at 30, which is usually the age when people say, 'You haven't made it, it's over,' and it gave me everything. It's opened so many doors for me," she explained. 

MORE: The surprising way Outlander star Caitríona Balfe began her career

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"This job, it's a joy. I've worked with the same people pretty much now for ten years, that's my gang, that's my crew. And this character, she's incredible.

"I've gotten to do so much and been so stretched as an actor because of who she is," she added. 

All you need to know about Outlander season seven 

The new series, which consists of 16 episodes, will pick up from the harrowing events of season six, which saw Claire on trial for the murder of Malva Christie while Jamie is en route to save her with the help of Young Ian and John Quincy Myers after being rescued from Richard Brown and his men. Watch a clip from the new series below. 

The synopsis continues: "In the seventh season of Outlander, Jamie, Claire, and their family are caught in the violent birth pains of an emerging nation as armies march to war and British institutions crumble in the face of armed rebellion.

"As the conflict draws them out of North Carolina and into the heart of this fight for independence, Jamie, Claire, Brianna, and Roger are faced with impossible decisions that have the potential to tear their family apart."

The series will be split into two parts with the first half premiering June 16 and the second half airing in 2024. 

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