Sean Bean is "very proud" he got to play Eddard 'Ned' Stark in 'Game of Thrones'

And Sean loved playing the patriarch of the Stark family and said his character was "an anchor" to many others in the show.

He told the Huffington Post: "He was such a fantastic character to play. He was one of the very few good men with principles and morals and values in the whole thing, because everybody's backstabbing and poisonous people.

"He was an anchor to a lot of people, and of goodness... I was just glad to play Ned Stark. I'm very proud of it."

Sean was told to use his natural South Yorkshire accent and admitted he helped some of his young co-stars, who didn't hail from North England, to master the dialect.

He said: "Now and again, yeah, but not often. Kids are quick at picking things up; the older guys could use help a bit.

"But no, it's quite well-known accent and it's not hard."

Currently, the show is filming its eighth and final season and will see cast members including Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) take on their roles for one last time.

And Sean has revealed which character he would love to see sat on the Iron Throne at the end of the fantasy saga.

He said: "I think Jon Snow would be a good choice [for the Iron Throne]."

Jon was thought the be illegitimate son of Ned and an unknown woman, but it was revealed at the end of season seven his biological parents were Ned's sister, Lyanna Stark - who died after childbirth - and Rhaegar Targaryen.