Kit Harington vows to never return for the Game of Thrones spin-off shows

'Would I want to go back and do more? Not on your life'

(HBO)

Kit Harington has vowed to not return to Game of Thrones following the conclusion to the series’ eighth and final season.

“It was emotional to leave the job definitely,” the actor told the BBC. “But I wouldn’t say I was sad: if like me you go all the way back to the pilot of Game of Thrones that’s almost 10 years of your life – that’s really unusual in an actor’s career. It was a huge emotional upheaval leaving that family.

“But would I want to go back and do more? Not on your life.”

George RR Martin and HBO have previously revealed that a prequel to Game of Thrones – set thousands of years before the events of the ongoing series – has entered production, with Naomi Watts taking on the lead role.

Asked whether he would perhaps cameo as an ancestor to his character Jon Snow, Harrington gave an unequivocal no, adding that his current stage-work takes precedent. The actor will next appear alongside the musician-turned-actor Johnny Flynn in Sam Shepard’s True West at the Vaudeville theatre in London.

Meanwhile, you can read everything we know about the eighth season of Game of Thrones here.