It might seem like a long time since Daenerys' fleet of 100 ships reached the waters of King's Landing but Game of Thrones fans don't have too much longer to wait for the start of season seven.

Previous series have always aired in April but this time round there has been a delay because filming was pushed back as producers needed chilly weather with plenty of snow.

Sky Atlantic will show the episodes at the same time in the UK and America, which means the first episode of season seven will air at 2am on Monday, July 17. However it will then be repeated at 9pm the same night.

Season seven will be much shorter than previous series with only seven episodes as opposed to the usual ten. And it's rumoured series eight will be even shorter, with only six episodes.

Daenerys Targaryen, portrayed by Emilia Clarke, appears in a scene from season four of Game of Thrones

What do we know so far?

In the trailer above we see Cersei, Daenerys and Jon Snow heading towards their prospective thrones.

As Cersei takes her seat she lets out a frozen breath of air which turns into the undead eye of the leader of the White Walkers known as the Night King.

It's suggested a great battle is yet to come when Cersei, Daenerys and Jon Snow collide but it's unclear if they will face each other in this series or in the following one.

Jon Snow

Game of Thrones co-creator David Benioff has revealed singer Ed Sheeran will make a cameo, apparently it was planned as a surprise for superfan Maisie Williams who plays Arya Stark.

Speaking to Hits Radio, Ed confirmed the news, saying: "I do a scene with Maisie. I sing a song and then she goes, ‘oh, that’s a nice song’".

Fansite Watchers on the Wall has speculated that murderous Walder Frey (played by David Bradley) might be resurrected and it could be linked to Arya's ability to 'borrow' faces from the dead.

Will there be any new characters?

The most exciting new edition is Jim Broadbent, mostly known for his role in the Harry Potter films as Horace Slughorn.

Speaking to ScreenCrush Jim revealed more about his role, he said: "I’m a maester, an archmaester. I'm an old professor character.

“I did five episodes. I did sort of one major scene in each episode.”

British actor Jim Broadbent

Mark Gatiss has confirmed that he will be back for season seven, featuring in two upcoming episodes. The Sherlock actor plays Tycho Nestoris the Iron Banker in the series, a member of the Iron Bank.

Fans speculate that, with Gatiss's return, the Iron Bank will venture to Westeros to get the money they are owed by The Crown. Conflict to come? Cersei needs to watch herself.