A HBO executive has hinted there will be a lot of character deaths in the final ever episode of Game of Thrones.

Speaking at the Best of HBO panel at the INTV Conference in Israel, the channel's senior vice president of drama Francesca Orsi recounted her experience of being at the table read for the finale, where actors were forced to read out their own characters' demises without warning.

Brutal.

"[The table read] was a really powerful moment in our lives and our career," she said (via Variety).

"None of the cast had received the scripts prior, and one by one they started to fall down to their deaths."

HBO

Related: Everything you need to know about Game of Thrones season eight

Game of Thrones won't return to screens until 2019, following the reveal that the final season will be delayed a whole year and every episode could potentially be feature-length.

Nonetheless, filming on the season is well under way in Northern Ireland, leading to inevitable speculation and potential spoilers about what will occur in the final season.

If you don't want to know – here's your spoiler warning to look away now or have zombie Mountain gouge out your eyes.

HBO/Helen Sloan

First up, there's the return of Lena Headey's body double, meaning we are likely to see a naked Cersei in some capacity during the final season.

We also know a huge new castle is being built on location, although what for, we can't be sure.

Nevertheless, it could have something to do with the fact Winterfell is likely to burn down in season eight, as the set was pictured up in flames earlier this year.

Oh, and the character Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) may have an unlikely but major hand in the final season's proceedings, as he was spotted drinking with the likes of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke).

Game of Thrones returns to HBO and Sky Atlantic in 2019.

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