FROM fighting white walkers to raising dragons and armies, the characters of the HBO hit Game of Thrones have come a long way since season one - and it shows.

Brutal journeys across Westeros have taken their toll on our heroes, leaving many physically - and mentally - scarred after years of struggle.

Sansa Stark

Sophie Turner was 16 when she made her acting debut as Sansa Stark on the show in 2011.

Viewers have grown to respect Sansa as she morphed from a naive youngster into the cunning Lady of Winterfell following a traumatic experience at the hands of sadistic Ramsey Bolton.

Tyrion Lannister

The quick-witted ‘hand’ of Daenerys Targaryen, played by Peter Dinklage, has been hailed as Britain's favourite character in the smash series.

After years of playing politics against his evil sister Cersei, Tyrion has travelled coast to coast of Westeros and across the narrow sea.

Now a battle-scarred, sombre adviser to the Mother of Dragons, Dinklage's character is near unrecognisable from the womanising drinker he was in season one.

Bran Stark

Isaac Hempstead Wright who plays Bran Stark, was just 12-years-old when he took up the role of Ned Stark's youngest son.

Bran becomes crippled in the first episode of season one, but that didn't stop him from facing white walkers north of the wall and turning into the powerful mystic known as the Three-Eyed Raven.

Cersei Lannister

Twisted Cersei Lannister, who is brought to life by actress Lena Heady, spent most of the early seasons trying to protect her children from throne-thirsty foes in King's Landing.

But after years of political struggle and even torture at the hands of a religious cult, she has seen all three of her kids die.

Now Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, she has managed to destroy all her immediate enemies - and has her sights set on Jon Snow and Daenerys.

Jon Snow

Brit actor Kit Harrington has starred as northern heartthrob Jon Snow for the last seven years of filming.

Starting out as the fresh-faced bastard son of Ned Stark, Jon has battled toe-to-toe with the horrors that approach from north of the wall.

Harrington was 25 when he started on the show and quickly fell for colleague Rose Leslie, who played Jon's first love Ygritte in the early seasons.

The pair have since tied the knot in real life, but on screen Jon has started an incestuous fling with Daenerys Targarian, who was revealed to be his aunt in last season.

Daenerys Targaryen

The Mother of Dragons, aka actress Emilia Clarke, is another fantasy favourite of hooked Game of Thrones viewers.

Clarke was also in her mid twenties when she took up the role as Daenerys Targaryen.

Fierce Danny has fought her way across the narrow sea to reclaim the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, finding friends in Tryion Lannister, Jon Snow and Jorah Mormont.

Arya Stark

Maise Williams is another youngster who plays a badass character that has managed to survive the perils of Westeros since the first episode aired.

Breathing life into runaway Stark girl Arya, she was just 14 when filming started.

Arya learned harsh truths as the Hound's sidekick in the first few seasons before travelling to Dawn to become an assassin and avenge the death of her father Ned.

Jaime Lannister

Blond haired "pretty boy" Jaime Lannister, played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, 48, is has also changed dramatically - both in looks and personality - throughout the series.

Jaime started out as a cocky king's guard soldier before he was captured and had his hand cut off in season three.

Since then, fans have grown to love the charismatic Lannister, who is torn between his incestuous love for his twin sister Cersei and moral conscience.

Theon Greyjoy

The love-to-hate character Theon Greyjoy suffered some of the most savage changes as the seasons rolled on.

Played by Alfie Allen, singer Lily's Allen's little brother, Theon was mentally broken and then castrated as a prisoner of evil Ramsey Bolton.