Hugh Dancy has defended the violence in Hannibal (Picture: NBC)

Hannibal star Hugh Dancy has said he doesn’t think the blood and gore on the show is gratuitous.

Asked by Digital Spy if he was surprised by the amount of violence that the series had managed to get on screen, he said he thought the format of the show was more controversial.

‘I think probably what you’re saying when you ask that is the amount of blood and the bodies and so on, but what I found to be more daring about it – and certainly more interesting – was the format,’ he said.

‘It’s hour-long, pretty psychological, complex, advanced and grown-up.


Mads Mikkelsen plays everyone’s favourite cannibal in Hannibal (Picture: NBC)

‘The blood and the guts of it, other than just being intrinsic to the genre, served all of that other stuff – it served your understanding of who Will was and his relationship with Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen), and why Will is so messed up, because he carries that stuff around with him.

‘I think partially that’s why we got away with [the gore] – because it has context and it was designed to be part of the aesthetic of the show. It’s not just, “S**t, we’ve run out of story – let’s kill someone”.’