Sam Heughan: How fans from Belgium, US travelled to get last-minute book festival tickets for Outlander star

She had logged into the book festival website on the first day events for the festival were on sale, but tickets for the Scottish actor’s cocktail masterclass were sold out within 15 minutes.

“There was a queue of a thousand people before me,” said piano tuner Ms Gombert. “I knew I wasn’t going to get one.”

Undeterred, she decided to travel to Scotland anyway, arriving late on Friday night. At 1pm on Saturday - more than five hours before the show was due to start - she arrived at the book festival, determined to find a last minute way to see her idol.

“They wouldn’t let me start queuing at the box office until an hour before the event,” she said. “I was sixth in the queue, but I got one. I can’t believe it.”

Ms Gombert made use of the book festival’s “repair” theme while she was waiting. The festival has held a range of events and workshops relating to the theme.

“I managed to get my watch fixed at the repair tent, so it was actually very useful,” Ms Gombert said.

Mr Heughan’s event, On The Rocks, held as he launches his new book, The Cocktail Diaries, has proved to be one of the most popular events of the book festival.

Queues outside the festival’s Spiegeltent started over an hour before the event, with fans desperate to catch a glimpse of the actor.

Among those who did not manage to get a ticket were self proclaimed Outlander “superfan”, Alessia Magnarelli from Rome and her family. Ms Magnarelli has held Outlander-themed New Year parties at her home, with all of the guests asked to dress as Outlander characters - while she handmade the costumes for herself and her husband.

“We couldn’t get tickets, but we wanted to come anyway,” she said, as she waited outside the Spiegeltent for the star to emerge after the event. “I have seen him before at a book signing and I am coming back in September to a convention for Outlander fans.”

Kenny Wallace and his partner Melissa met through their love of Outlander - and are now engaged with two young children.

“We still watch Outlander all the time,” said Mr Wallace, who snapped up tickets as soon as they went on sale. His partner lived in London when they met, while Mr Wallace was in Scotland, but moved north of the Border soon after they got together.

“She just loves Scotland,” he said. “The first conversation we had where we really connected was about Outlander. We were playing a computer game online and we started talking and realised we both liked it. I started watching it because I was really interested in the Scottish history.

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“Now, eight years later, we’ve got two children and we’re getting married. We’ve never seen him before, but I got Melissa a signed book of his for her Christmas present, which she really loved.”

Behind the couple in the queue for the event was American-born amateur bagpipe player Lucia Snyderman, who took up the instrument after watching Outlander. Originally from Pennsylvania, she lives in London, where she is studying for a PhD.

“I’m very excited,” she said. “I couldn’t get tickets, but then I kept checking and last week, two suddenly appeared so I grabbed them. I can’t believe it.”

Ms Snyderman was attending the event with Margo Harrington, whom she met when a mutual friend introduced them due to their shared love of Outlander.

“I had asked him about places I should go that were in Outlander when I came on a trip to Scotland and he put us in touch,” she said. “We can’t believe we’re going to see him. He seems like a really lovely person.”

The pair are already planning to meet in Stratford to see Mr Heughan perform in Macbeth with the Royal Shakespeare Company later this year.

Alistair McCallum, at the event with his wife Fiona, joked while standing in the queue that he could sell his tickets and make a fortune.

“We’re really looking forward to it, he’s very charismatic,” said Ms McCallum. “We travelled down from Aberdeen this morning specially.”

One of only a few men at the event, Mr McCallum said he had watched the Outlander series, as well as a new spin-off, Blood of My Blood, which does not feature Mr Heughan, with his wife.

“I think we all [men] have been forced to come,” he said. “But I have watched all of the series. He has a whisky and gin as well. If he’s selling that, I might have a few whiskies.”

Angela Ellis, from Edinburgh, said the event was one of many she was attending at the book festival, including shows featuring Alexander McCall Smith, David Baddiel and Judy Murray.

“I liked him in Outlander and when I saw he was coming, I thought it would be something a bit different,” she said.

Ms Ellis said ticket holders had been sent an email from the festival telling them there would be no book signing after the talk.

A spokeswoman for the book festival said book signings and meet and greets were the decision of an author’s publisher.

Inside the event, the audience was offered whisky cocktails and was treated to a performance by a piper.

“I’ve never been at a book festival event where so many people were filming it on their phones and taking selfies,” said one audience member.

Vicky Johnson, from Edinburgh, admitted she has only watched two episodes of Outlander. She was at the event with her friend, Sylvia Hancock, a fan of Mr Heughan, who was born in Kirkcudbright and moved to Edinburgh with his family at the age of 12 before studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.

“It’s the cocktails I’m here for,” said Ms Johnson. “Who doesn’t like cocktails?”