Game of Thrones season 8: Maisie Williams responds to controversial Arya sex scene

*Spoiler warning for episode 2, season 8 of Game of Thrones*

Maisie Williams has made light of a sex scene between her Game of Thrones character Arya Stark and Gendry (Joe Dempsie), the bastard son of Robert Baratheon.

Fans were left reeling after the second episode of the eighth season aired over the weekend, while Williams admitted that she thought the moment was a "prank" when she read the script.

Arya makes her feelings known for the blacksmith after he made her dragonglass weapon for her. She told him she wanted to “know what it feels like” in the face of her potential death in next week's battle against the White Walkers.

Viewers were quick to Google Arya's age on the show, believing her to be far younger than the 21-year-old Gendry. The character is in fact 18 years old, while Williams is 22.

You can find our extensive ranking of every character – from worst to best – here and our definitive episode ranking below.

Williams also said it was left for her to decide how naked she appeared on camera. Following the episode, some viewers expressed distaste at the thought that Williams, who was 11 when the show began, would have had to undress in front of crew members who have known her since she was a child.

“(Writers) David (Benioff) and Dan (Weiss) were like: ‘You can show as much or as little as you want,’” she said, adding: ”So I kept myself pretty private. I don’t think it’s important for Arya to flash. This beat isn’t really about that.“

Sophie Turner, who plays Arya's sister Sansa, joked on Instagram: “In honour of Easter, I guess Game of Thrones wanted the storyline to have a little Easter bunny hop hop hoppin’ into that p****."

Williams later tweeted: "If u feel uncomfortable just know that my mother and my step dad and my 2 sisters and my 4 brothers have all probably watched this too ahahakillmeehehe."

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​Game of Thrones continues on Sunday in the US on HBO. UK viewers can see the latest episodes on Sky or NowTV