Game of Thrones season 7: Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand kiss 'wasn't directed, we led it'

'It became more sexual than we expected because it seemed right'

With Game of Thrones being such a precise operation you might not expect there to be much room for improvisation, but Yara Greyjoy actress Gemma Whelan has revealed just how much her season 7 cabin scene with Ellaria Varma actress Indira Varma changed and "became more sexual".

It was originally intended that Ellaria kiss Theon and only flirt with Yara, but the dynamic changed considerably.

Whelan told Entertainment Weekly of the scene:

"I loved it! Indira is one of the sexiest people, we had a lovely time. Indira and I were quite fearless, we just went for it. Actually, initially, in that scene, it was meant to be her kissing Alfie. Then it [changed]. It wasn’t directed that we would kiss. It just seemed like something we should do. We led it, very much so. It was meant to be a suggestion [of flirting] and then it became more sexual than we expected because it seemed right. There was only a skeleton crew working because the rig could only take so much weight, so we were left very much on our own. And who wouldn’t want to kiss Indira? I mean, come on!"

Game of Thrones has been uncharacteristically low on sex and romance so far in season 7, the Greyworm/Missandei scene notwithstanding, which actor Jacob Anderson described as "the most difficult scene I've ever had to do in my life, for so many reasons."

Game of Thrones continues Sunday nights on HBO, Sky Atlantic and NOWTV.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more.