This Game of Thrones character was only meant to star in one episode

Words by Maisie Bovingdon 

The final eighth series of Game of Thrones is in full swing as the third episode, The Long Night, aired on Sunday night, which saw the Battle of Winterfell, finally hit our screens.

After the show aired fans took to social media to gush over Lyanna Mormont - played by 16-year-old actress Bella Ramsey - as she killed the giant zombie, although the moment also led to her downfall as she was crushed by the monster.

But the noblewoman was never meant to be in the HBO series for as long as she was, as she was only slated to feature in one scene.

Speaking about Bella's character in a post-show interview, which has been reported on Teen Vogue, show producer D. B. Weiss explained: 'Lyanna Mormont was supposed to be a one-scene character, and then we met Bella Ramsey and we realised that we would not be doing our jobs if we kept her as a one-scene character.'

Lyanna made her first appearance on screen in season six back in 2016 when Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) paid Lyanna a visit at her home, Bear Island, and begged for her help to win back Winterfell.

Lyanna resurfaced again in the next series as she prepared her troops for the pinnacle of GoT, the Battle of Winterfell, which took place in season eight.

Although Lyanna was not meant to be a longstanding character in the medieval drama, the producers felt she deserved to receive a memorable exit scene.

Weiss added: 'We knew that you can't give a big death to everybody who dies in this battle because it would have been too much, but also, if she were to die, there's no way to not make a moment of it, so that's where the zombie giant comes in.

'But they also understood why we needed to give one of the strongest smaller people in the show a chance to go out taking down one of the strongest larger things we've ever seen in the show.'