Sydney loves Outlander star (and the feeling is mutual)

Outlander hunk Sam Heughan is on a whirlwind promotional visit in Sydney ahead of the show’s second season next month on April.

On his first visit to Australia, Heughan is soaking up the local sights on a rain-soaked weekend.

“It rains here more than I expected,” he told TV Tonight. “We arrived here on Friday. On the first day we went to see the Waratahs play the Highlanders was fantastic. Then I checked out Bondi and did the whole tourist thing in Manly. Yesterday was incredible, during what felt like a tropical storm, we went up the Harbour Bridge. It was magnificent.

“I love the lifestyle here and the people. You guys have got it pretty good!”

Life has changed considerably since viewers have seen him play Jamie Fraser in the epic Starz series. Australian fans -and even some TV presenters- are swooning in his presence.

“I was recognised on my first day at Bondi by a few people, and even at the airport. It’s been terrific. We had a Live appearance today on Studio 10 and there were fans from all over Australia fly here, fans from New Zealand –even ones that were scared of flying overcome their fear. They said in the studio it was the biggest audience they’ve had. It was a lot of excitement!

“It’s quite strange to see how far the show has reached and how many people it has affected.”

Heughan leaves Sydney today with no chance to visit other cities.

“I would have loved to have seen the Grand Prix. Bit of a fan!”

Outlander returns to SoHo on April 10.

NB: feature interview to follow later.