GAME OF THRONES SEASON 7: (Who stays and who goes?)

Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion), Lena Headey (Cersei), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime) all reportedly signed up for a seventh season back in late 2014.

The same five actors were also optioned for an eighth run of episodes in June 2016.

But all these contracts mean is that GoT has an option on those actors. There's still no guarantee that their characters will actually survive that long – and Sophie Turner has hinted that "not all" of the current cast will make it to the final sprint.

For example, in October 2014, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that – along with Sophie Turner (Sansa) and Maisie Williams (Arya) – Natalie Dormer had also signed up for season seven. But that didn't stop her character Margaery from going up in Wildfire flames at the end of season six.

One character we'd given up for dead will be back, though - with Iain Glen (Ser Jorah) spotted on a flight to Northern Ireland, greyscale be damned.

House Mormont's littlest bad-ass Lady Lyanna (Bella Ramsey) is also back after a scene-stealing turn in season six – and she might just be teaming up with our favourite Wilding, Tormund (Kristofer Hivju), too.

As for Joe Dempsie's long-lost Gendry – last seen rowing to parts unknown back in season three - there's still no word when he'll be back, though the actor told Digital Spy he'd "love to be involved".

"There's a lot of unanswered questions about Gendry and the longer it goes on, the more obvious his absence becomes," he said. But... he has since been spotted landing in Belfast – and in Spain, where he appeared to take part in a scene featuring Davos and Tyrion (make of that what you will) – so either way it looks pretty likely that he's on his way back.

There's even some talk that the long-dead Khal Drogo could be back... a rumour that sprang up after Jason Momoa was spotted in Ireland with GoT's showrunners and later fuelled by a second snap of the actor alongside Kit Harington.

"I prepare for the north," he posted on Instagram... what a tease!