A TELEVISION programme has inspired an imaginative duo with a sweet tooth to create a traditional Highland dress – made almost entirely from chocolate!

Chocolatiers Alastair and Friederike Gower were moved after watching the hit show Outlander, which was partly filmed in East Lothian.

The British-American drama, based on the series of novels by Diana Gabaldon, stars Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall, a Second World War nurse in 1945 who finds herself transported back to Scotland in 1743.

Alastair, from the Chocolate Tree, which is based on Haddington’s Knox Place and has a shop on the town’s Hardgate, explained how the idea to create their own version of the full Highland dress outfit made almost entirely of organic chocolate came about.

He said: “Last year, we did a chocolate sporran.

“This year we went the whole hog, especially with Outlander being so popular.

“Friederike got the designs from Outlander and the outfit was inspired by that.”

The finished result took centre stage at this year’s Chocolate Show, which is a a highlight of the annual Chocolate Week celebrations.

The London-based event encourages creative entries for its fashion showcase, which displays the incredible feats that can be accomplished with chocolate.

Alastair added: “These shows are in London and very international, with people from all over the world.

“As we are a Scottish company we thought it was important to put our identity on the map.”

The outfit, which was modelled by Alastair, consisted of a kilt, boots, socks, hat, feathers, broach, sporran, sword and even shirt buttons all made from chocolate.

The outfit, which was made from 12 kilogrammes of chocolate, was handcrafted by Friederike and took two months to complete.

Now, the outfit is set to take pride of place in the company’s Edinburgh shop, although it could provide Alastair with a somewhat unusual Hallowe’en costume.

Alastair added: “It was a little bit more rigid than the traditional kilt and a little bit less flexible. It was surprisingly comfortable, though, and smelled quite good.”

The unusual fashion item rounded off a good week for the company, which has its chocolate factory in Haddington, as it won a bronze in the world finals of the International Chocolate Awards for its Venezuela Porcelana 85 per cent chocolate bar.