You’d be forgiven for forgetting that Richard Madden was on Game of Thrones given his recently success in the BBC’s Bodyguard.
And it seems as though his newfound success and busy schedule has meant the former King in the North Robb Stark won’t be back for the anticipated Thrones reunion special.
Madden has confirmed that he wasn’t able to make the filming for the HBO special earlier this year in Belfast due to his commitments to the Elton John movie Rocketman.
“I didn’t do any of that,” Madden told Entertainment Weekly. “I was [filming] Rocketman so I wasn’t able to do that.”
Ned Stark actor Sean Bean is the only confirmed star for the special, which will only be available to those who buy the eventual seasons 1-8 boxset.
“Conan O'Brien did this thing,” Bean said of the special. “It was the last episode, so we all got together.
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"It was good! It's funny with work, you don't really keep in touch. You do so many types of jobs in that part of the world. It's just like whenever I see old friends or even old drama school friends, it's just the same, we pick up where we left off last time.
"They decided to get all the characters together for a bit for this big show in Belfast and [Conan] kind of hosted the evening.”
Meanwhile, Madden scored his first Golden Globe nomination this week for his role as David Budd in Bodyguard.
Game of Thrones season 8 will premiere in April 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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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
