It's official: Game of Thrones is over.

Well, we've still got six more episodes to go before the epic fantasy saga is officially at an end, but filming wrapped on the series last week, with the cast bidding farewell to their characters after many years.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Sophie Turner – who's played Sansa Stark since 2011 – admitted that finally letting go of her alter-ego felt "so strange".

"It's like a divorce, or a death in the family, leaving Sansa behind, and leaving people behind," she said.

HBO

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"I think the divorce from the character is the hardest thing for me, because my adolescence has just been 'Sophie and Sansa'. Sometimes, you get both worlds mixed up. So leaving Sansa behind is like leaving a big part of my growing up behind.

"A lot of it was influenced by her. So it's really strange not having that crutch to lean on. But I'll be fine! I'll be fine! I promise!"

Turner revealed that all of the Game of Thrones cast had "been in tears, crying" as the time came to wrap on the series. (What, even The Hound?!)

HBO

Related: Sophie Turner was "very satisfied" with Game of Thrones season 8's "unpredictable" ending

"It's been a really strange few months, having everyone wrap in front of us," she said. "And it really is like each one is kind of dying off... not in the show this time, but in real life. It's saying goodbye to someone and being like, 'God, will I ever see them again?'

"It's so strange. I think I'll only really know how I'm feeling when next year comes about, and I'm not filming Game of Thrones, and I'm looking for a job desperately!"

Her final scene as Sansa "took about five days to shoot" – leaving Turner and her unnamed co-stars "all quite sweaty, and bored by the end".

But helping to alleviate the difficulties of shooting was a touching farewell gift from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. "I wrapped shooting in Spain – like, the whole of Game of Thrones," Turner explained. "But I remember the first time, when I wrapped in Belfast with the crew that we worked with so often, it was in the Winterfell courtyard.

Home Box Office, Inc

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"I wasn't even shooting there, but the director, David Nutter, called me into the courtyard, because he knew it was my last day on set. He said to the whole crew, 'Sansa Stark is leaving Winterfell for the last time.'

"As you can imagine, I bawled my eyes out.

"Then David and Dan presented each actor with their favourite scene of their character in a storyboard, with a little note on the back. That set me off as well. As soon as they brought that out… And the documentary crew saw me. It was just a nightmare, to be honest – I was just bawling.

"It's very emotional. But we keep delaying our goodbyes. We keep going, 'We'll see you at the wrap party. It's fine.' And then we're like, 'Well, we won't say bye now. We'll say bye at the premiere.' 'We won't say bye then. We'll say bye at Comic-Con.' We never want it to be goodbye, really."

Yup, we're totally in denial, too. It's not over 'til 2019. And then there's the spin-off. And then the next book from George RR Martin. It's never over!

Game of Thrones season 8 will premiere in 2019. The show airs on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK. Season 7 is now available to buy on DVD, Blu-ray or digital download.

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