Pop singer apparently turned down the chance to play princess Yara Greyjoy alongside her brother, saying the part involved 'too much incest'

Lily Allen has revealed that she was offered a fairly major role in the TV series Game of Thrones, playing opposite her brother, Alfie. Allen apparently declined a chance to play bloody-minded princess Yara Greyjoy, deciding that the part involved "too much incest".

Before he was cast as Game of Thrones' Theon Greyjoy in 2011, Alfie was best known as the protagonist in a song on Allen's debut. It seems this was not lost on the HBO program's producers, who spoke to Allen about joining Alfie in the fantasy world of Westeros.



"They asked me if I'd be interested in playing Theon's sister," Allen explained in a recent Reddit webchat Ask Me Anything. "I felt uncomfortable because I would have had to go on a horse and he would have touched me up and shit. Once they told me what was entailed, I said no thanks."



Though described by Allen as a "cameo", Yara's role is actually quite large: now played by Gemma Whelan, the Ironborn warrior has appeared in six episodes so far. But the singer is right about the horse, and the incest: Theon fondles Yara in her saddle before discovering that they're siblings. Between this and Theon's recent torture, Allen said she's finding her "gifted" brother's scenes "very difficult to watch".

Despite turning down the part, Allen said she'd still be "open to" appearing on Game of Thrones. She would just prefer "a musical cameo like Sigur Rós", who played a beset-upon wedding band during a recent episode of the show. Brooklyn rockers the National have also performed on the series, and Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody appeared as an extra. In February, Stevie Nicks said that she would "love" to write music for Game of Thrones, and Big Boi was among the contributors to a recent Game of Thrones hip-hop mix tape.

Lily and Alfie Allen both acted, with tiny roles, in the 1998 movie Elizabeth.