Gemma Whelan nearly lost her job over online spoilers

Game of Thrones is big on secrets, so putting one online is definitely a sackable offence. Photo / HBO

By Bronte Coy

No show takes secrecy more seriously than Game of Thrones.

Every single tiny detail released by its creators is rapidly dissected by the series' vast fan community - so it's no surprise they keep everything locked up tight until they're good and ready to share it with the world.

That's the lesson Gemma Whelan nearly learned the hard way, after landing the role of Yara Greyjoy.

"When I first got the job... no one told me to keep quiet about it," she told the U.K. Times.
"I just thought it was normal to pop it in my Spotlight entry, so I wrote on my CV, 'This summer, Gemma will be playing Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones.'"

Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy. Photo / HBO

As soon as eagle-eyed fans caught wind of the casting, the news spread like wildfire.

"The internet went nuts," Whelan said. "One of the lovely, lovely producers on Thrones called me into his office and said, 'This is very serious. We almost can't employ you because of this.'"

Luckily, it was only "almost" - Whelan ended up playing Yara from season two onwards.

Just last week, her co-star Emilia Clarke leaked some info to Rolling Stone about her character Khaleesi's future - namely, that she will stick it out right until the very end.

"Spoiler alert - I normally don't spend very much time in Belfast, but this last season I spent a little more time there," she told the publication.

"It's a really interesting season in terms of some loose ends that have been tied, some really satisfying plot points, some things where you're like, 'Oh, my God. I forgot about that!'

"Rumours are going to be confirmed or denied ... I mean, I have no doubt there'll be prequels and sequels and who knows what else. But I am doing one more season. And then that'll be it."

*Game of Thrones' seventh season debuts on Monday on Sky TV's SoHo channel.