Game of Thrones season 7: Leading cast members sign contracts for further series

The hit show's main actors have received huge pay rises for future seasons

Kit Harington has been given a huge pay rise to extend his contract as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones (HBO)

The cast of Game of Thrones has signed contracts for a potential seventh season of the hit fantasy drama, insider reports have confirmed.

Leading actors who were on board for six series have completed renegotiations that will see their current contracts extended, should the show continue.

US network HBO has offered its principal cast members "huge raises" for seasons five and six that will make them some of the highest-paid actors on cable television, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Based on George RR Martin's bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Game of Thrones was renewed for two further seasons in April.

While a seventh run has yet to be confirmed, the show's massive ratings success makes it a strong possibility.

It is believed that a tiered system is used to pay the stars of Game of Thrones, with Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldan (Jaime Lannister) paid the most as the "A" tier.

Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) and Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell) are said to be in the "B" tier but will also receive raises for the season seven option.

Despite cast members extending their contracts, their characters could be killed off at any point, meaning they would lose their jobs. George RR Martin is famous for his gruesome deaths and is yet to finish the book series.

The season four finale of Game of Thrones attracted 7.1 million viewers, helping the show topple The Sopranos to become HBO's most-watched series ever.