Game of Thrones season 7 episode 7: Who dies? Actor behind shock finale death speaks out

*Spoilers follow - you have been warned*

Game of Thrones season seven has drawn to a close with an episode that's put everything in place ahead of next year's final ever run of episodes.

Naturally, the series will return with a smaller than ensemble than before with one main character failing to make it out of the episode alive.

*Spoilers follow - you have been warned*

Lord Petyr Baelish - the manipulative character known as Littlefinger - was killed at the hand of Arya in Winterfell after the Stark's conspired to bring down the traitor once and for all.

Actor Aiden Gillen, who has been on the HBO series since its first season, spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the plot twist, describing it as “a potent loss.”

He reflected upon the character's attempts at turning Arya and Sansa against one another, stating: “With carefully laid plans there’s always a bit of risk involved. He’s put himself in a situation that could backfire on him. I think he likes it. [His plans] are never fail safe. But he puts himself on the line like a good gambler...as soon as he walks in that room and Arya produces the dagger he knows the game is up.

“He at least suspected the game was up back in episode four when Bran told him, 'Chaos is a ladder',” he added. “For Bran to come up with that is beyond coincidental. That’s when the ground started to shift beneath my feet. At that point, I knew the things I’ve done in private are not necessarily private. Obviously, I was expecting it.

Gillen reflected upon what it was like to learn his character's number was up from showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

“You’re left a little bereft - for your character and for your experience,” he said. “It also immediately makes you quantify the hugeness of what that experience has been over the last seven years, which has been massive.

“You know, I did pretty well. The character did pretty well. They need to hone [the cast] down. That’s not an issue, really. The end is when it happens. I don’t think beyond that.

Game of Thrones returns for an eighth and final season in 2018.