FOR the more than three million UK fans of Game Of Thrones, the wait is almost over, with season six of HBO’s groundbreaking fantasy drama arriving on our screens tonight, or rather in the early hours of tomorrow.

Thrones addicts will be in for a late night ... and an even earlier morning as a “simulcasting” arrangement means viewers in the UK will be able to catch it at the same time as those in the US. That means devotees of the show will have to wait up until 2am to watch it live, leading to speculation that there could be a raft of Game of Thrones-induced sickies on Monday morning.

We already know the show has been commissioned for a seventh season and, in a world entertainment first, the television series is pulling ahead of the book version on which it is based. George RR Martin, the writer of the series, is still working on the sixth book in the A Song Of Ice And Fire epic fantasy novel series but has agreed the outline of what will happen in the seventh series of the show.

The build-up to season six, meanwhile, has sparked frenzied interest, with the fate of Jon Snow undoubtedly the main cliffhanger in the 10 months since the season five finale. There’s been endless speculation over the fate of Snow, whom no-one believes is, or will stay, dead and doubtless obsessive followers of the show will have spent the months since the last episode aired thinking about the various ways how he may have been able to escape death.

Perhaps the Red Priestess, who returned to Castle Black with Davos just in time for Snow’s murder, will use her magic to bring him back to life.

For HBO, the speculation surrounding Game Of Thrones is all part of the draw and is critical to keeping that high level of engagement with it. Will there be anything to replicate the infamous Red Wedding – the massacre at the marriage feast of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey, when a host of the programme’s leads (King Robb Stark, his wife, Queen Talisa, his mother, Lady Catelyn, and all his men-at-arms) were ruthlessly slaughtered? But The question Thrones fans will want answering even now is: will series seven be the last one?

Series creators and showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff said: “In the beginning, we hoped that if the show worked, we’d get seven seasons to tell the tale. Seven kingdoms, seven gods, seven books – seven felt like a lucky number.”

However, there is a chance we’ll get more, or at least an extended last season: “The actual messiness of storytelling might not be quite that numerologically elegant,” they admitted to The Hollywood Reporter. “But we’re looking at somewhere between 70 and 75 hours before the credits roll for the last time.”

They added: “At this point, given the fact that we’re outpacing the novels, we all see the upside in the divergence: book readers won’t be spoiled by what’s to come on the show, and the show audience won’t have to worry about spoilers from the unpublished books.”

WOMEN OF WESTEROS

Ever since Game Of Thrones first hit the screens the show has been defined by its female characters – to such an huge extent that there is a popular perception that the “women of Westeros” may be the strongest female roles TV has ever seen.

Characters such as Daenerys Targaryen (a princess who commands three fire-breathing dragons), Melisandre (a red priestess who worships the Lord of Light), and Cersei Lannister (Queen Regent of the Seven Kingdoms) have arguably taken over TV, such is the global phenomena of the show. Others likely to leave a lasting impression in the annals of TV history are Arya Stark, the younger of the Stark daughters, noted for using her survival skills and her transformation from tomboy to teen assassin. There’s also Sansa Stark, the oldest Stark daughter and Missandei, formerly a slave in Astapor, both of whom have established almost iconic status among followers of the show.

Sarah Artt, programme leader for the BA English and Film at Edinburgh Napier University, said the female leads that really stood out were Arya, Daenerys, Catelyn Stark and Shae.

Artt said: “The female characters in Game Of Thrones get screen time and they are not just there to be rescued. They are not just the prize for the male character and they are not just there to support the male character. They are strong in the sense that they are far more fully developed than in other shows.”

However, Artt said that despite the presence of strong female characters in Game Of Thrones, the women were ultimately placed behind the men.

Artt said: “There are these popular perceptions that there is a portrayal of powerful female roles.

“But so often they are often ultimately taken over by patriarchy. Some people might say that the show is egalitarian in that everyone retains power in a way. But there’s also a real way in which women so often have power taken away from them and are humiliated and physically assaulted. “Female characters in the show get a lot more scope for development than in other shows though.”

WHERE WE STAND

Jon Snow was last seen bleeding to death in the courtyard of Castle Black. The brutal assassination of Snow by his own men was a shocking cliffhanger on which to end the last season. Actor Kit Harington has said he will not return for season six, but there’s no escaping Snow on the posters and in the trailers for the upcoming year, so he’ll at least continue to be important. It’s also worth remembering that Melisandre conveniently arrived at the Wall just before the Night’s Watch turned on Jon, in what was the final episode Mother’s Mercy.

CONTROVERSY

Game Of Thrones has had some of the most shocking TV moments from blood and beheadings to rape and incest. Many fans were outraged in season five, as episode six ended with Sansa Stark being brutally raped by her new husband, Ramsey, while a terrified Theon/Reek watched on. However, the Red Wedding was the turning point for the entire show. Just as everyone thought it was going the Starks’ way, they nearly all end up murdered in one of the bloodiest episodes ever to be shown on TV. But Arya, Sansa, Bran, Rickon and Jon survived.

There was also the rat torture scene in season two when a bucket of rats is put to a man’s chest and then heated up with a flame so they must eat through the man to escape.

MERCHANDISE

Such is the cult of enthusiasm surrounding Game Of Thrones that the merchandise surrounding the programme has taken on a life of its own, with everything from a series-themed drinks party equipment through to pinball machines for fans.

Items on sale in the HBO online catalogue include glasses to drink fire-dragon punch, with beer glasses and coasters all with a Westeros inspiration. Firms have also sought to cash in on the show, with pinball machines that are packed with features for challenges to play against kings, knights, knaves and dragons. There are also Game Of Thrones hanging ornaments, metallic figurines, mini-sword kits and construction Throne room models, as well as Monopoly and Risk themed on the TV series.