Game of Thrones season 6: Melisandre actor Carice van Houten reacts to The Red Woman's twist ending

*Spoilers follow - you have been warned*

Carice van Houten as Melisandre in Game of Thrones (HBO)

Viewers were left mystified when Game of Thrones' season six premiere revealed Melisandre to be a very different character to what we've assumed.

The episode's closing moment sees the Red Woman remove her cloak and necklace to unveil herself as an extremely ancient figure, worlds away from the confident Lord of Light preacher she's been over the past five seasons.

Actor Carice van Houten - who plays Melisandre - has since reacted to the twist which came as a shock to viewers and readers of George R.R. Martin's books alike.

“I was really happy when I read that we were going to reveal that this year,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t think a lot of people will see that coming. It makes her immediately more vulnerable, but also wise and even more mysterious. There’s also a vulnerability in her age.”

The actor levelled that the moment serves to place her character's questionable actions into context somewhat - namely the controversial murder of Stannis Baratheon's daughter Shireen last season.

“That’s why she was able to say, ‘This is just a small war, it’s all relative compared to the big war we're going to face,'" said van Houten.

“[Her age] makes everything even more meta. Definitely, that’s where all that stuff comes from.”

In the past, van Houten has indirectly commented that her character is "...way over a hundred years old" lending credence to a popular fan theory that has flared up in the wake of the premiere episode.

With her faith in the Lord of Light extinguished following the death of John Snow (Kit Harington), it will be interesting to see how this plot twist will affect the storyline moving ahead.

Game of Thrones will be simulcast live with the US on Sky Atlantic at 2am every Sunday and repeated the following evening at 9pm.

The trailers, titles and plot synopses for episodes two and three have been released following the show's return.