An awards coverage website pulled a video interview with Outlander stars Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan over the weekend after it was found to have misrepresented what Balfe said about a filming location in Scotland.
Gold Derby issued an apology Saturday and took down the clip, according to a report by The Wrap. The site said an editing error caused Balfe to appear to call the village of Shotts "an armpit." The full, unedited transcript of her remarks told a different story.
"We have removed a video featuring 'Outlander' stars Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan. Due to an editing error, Caitríona Balfe was misquoted in the clip," Gold Derby wrote in a post on social media.
Balfe had been asked to name the worst filming location from the globe-trotting series. She pointed to a specific spot near Shotts, not the town itself. "It's a particular place in Shotts. I just want to be specific," Balfe said in her full response. "It's not the town — the little village. They found an old dump that was also kind of a swamp, and we were there for over a week, and our sets kept getting attacked, and it was not my favorite place."
The Daily Record reported that the show filmed in Hartwood Hill in 2024. A source told that outlet that items were stolen from the production's set during filming. "The set quad bike was stolen and set fire to and they struggled further to secure the set. They also had a lot of difficulties with the ground being impenetrable," the source said.
The misquote drew a response from former Scottish Parliament member Alex Neil. Speaking to The Daily Record, Neil defended the people of Shotts while acknowledging the area's difficulties. "There's no denying the social problems facing Shotts because, like many other ex mining communities, no government has invested in these communities, so they've been allowed to run down physically," he said. "But the point is, in these communities the people have a heart of gold, they're very good, decent hard working people who are trying to make the best of their lives and make ends meet in very difficult circumstances."
Neil also pushed back on the characterization that had been falsely attributed to Balfe. "Far from being the 'armpit' — which suggests the place stinks — the people are actually lovely people in Shotts. She is probably totally ignorant of its history," he said.
Gold Derby's statement closed with a direct apology. "Gold Derby deeply regrets the error and sincerely apologizes to Caitríona Balfe, the people of Shotts and everyone involved," the outlet wrote.
