Game of Thrones season 5: Hodor and Bran Stark will not return

Actor gets a year off to 'do Rave of Thrones and gallivant'

Hodor is a gentle giant of few words (HBO)

Game of Thrones is to lose much-loved disyllabic hero Hodor in season 5, with actor Kristian Nairn confirming that his character along with Bran Stark "have a year's hiatus".

Both played a big part in season 4, venturing beyond The Wall to meet The Children, but will not feature in any of the ten new episodes expected next year.

"We have a season off and we have a year's hiatus, solely because I imagine our storyline is up to the end of the books," Nairn told Yahoo. "So, I get my year off now to do Rave of Thrones and gallivant all over the world."

He isn't joking remember, Rave of Thrones is genuinely a thing.

Nairn also discussed the difficulty of playing a character with a one-word vocabulary in the show in the interview, saying it is hard to not come across a bit "panto".

"People say 'Right, you've only got one line, you've either got the hardest job in the show, or you've got the easiest job'," he added.

"You have to tread that line between you don't want to do your huge panto reactions in the background, you have to be subtle and real.

"It's challenging and sometimes I have to snap myself back around afterwards."

Game of Thrones season 5 has recruited directors from Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire and more, and is yet to be given a release date.