The Walking Dead season 7 episode 1: This is who Negan kills

*Major spoilers for season 7, episode 1 follow*

It's been seven long months but The Walking Dead has finally returned - and we now know which character was killed by Negan in the closing moments of season 6.

The season 7 premiere picked up exactly where the last agonisingly left off, with 11 of the main characters - including Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) - kneeling at the mercy of new antagonist, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

Instead of showing who Negan bludgeons to death, the producers instead opted to flip to POV leaving the victim's identity uncertain - until now.

*Major spoilers for The Walking Dead season 7 premiere follow - read at your own peril*

Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) is the unfortunate character that's been killed off by Negan - only he didn't stop there; he killed Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) also in what was easily the zombie drama's most violent scenes yet.

In a scene recollected by a shellshocked Rick, we see the leader of the Saviours bash Ford's brains in after he speaks his final words: "Suck my nuts" before unexpectedly dispatching of Rhee after Daryl throws a punch at him - all in front of his pregnant wife, Maggie.

The reveal has been one of the most anticipated in television history with the producers taken extreme measures to keep it secret; 11 different endings were filmed and body doubles were hired by producers to ensure the surprise wasn't spoiled for fans. Despite this, a script leak was reported to have occurred just days before the premiere. Fox also accidentally released the trailer for episode two inadvertantly revealing which characters Negan didn't kill.

Yeun has been on the show since it began in 2010, while Cudlitz joined the cast for its fourth season.

We interviewed the latter earlier this year; he did an excellent job at keeping the news quiet.

The Walking Dead's season 7 premiere was simulcast on FOX while it aired in the US. It'll be repeated tonight at 9pm.