King and Conqueror stars tease episode 1 gore: "There was a big discussion if we were going to keep it in or not"

Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press at a screening for the BBC drama, leading stars James Norton and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau were asked about the physicality of their roles and the "eating off of faces" that occurs in the premiere episode.

Norton remarked: "I feel kind of bad, I didn’t realise."

Coster-Waldau interjected jokingly: "I was going to tell you guys, there was a journalist that had picked up on that and just thought it was the most brilliant thing.

"I couldn’t wait to tell you because it was a big discussion whether to keep that in the show or not. Was it too much? But it’s such a great character moment."

Director Baltasar Kormákur said: "I’m so happy for the extra, that it can be [kept in]."

Norton talked about the lengths he went to during the fight scene, saying: "I literally bit his nose. I went through the skin, it was terrible."

Kormákur said: "I didn’t tell you to do that!"

Speaking about the aftermath of the scene and the scene itself, Norton went on: "I swear, the guy came into rehearsal with this huge bandage – it was like a kind of comedy. But I was just getting really into it.

"No, Baltasar had that stroke of genius. It’s those moments where you’re in 11th-century England and it’s brutal, it’s messy, it’s violent and visceral. On the day, he was like, 'I think it’s a good idea to bite his nose,' and I was like, 'I’m in.'"

The hotly anticipated drama tells the story of feuding leaders King Harold II and William the Conqueror, played by Norton and Coster-Waldau respectively.

The series takes us back to the time before the Battle of Hastings, being described by the BBC as "the story of a clash that defined the future of a country – and a continent – for a thousand years, the roots of which stretch back decades and extend out through a pair of interconnected family dynasties, struggling for power across two countries and a raging sea".

Read more:

• James Norton reveals he suffered "painful" injury doing his own King and Conqueror stunts
• James Norton teases King and Conqueror: 'It's mad to think nobody has done it before'

The official synopsis continues: "Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy were two men destined to meet at the Battle of Hastings in 1066; two allies with no design on the English throne, who found themselves forced by circumstance and personal obsession into a war for possession of its crown."

As well as the leading men, the cast of King and Conqueror also includes Emily Beecham as Edith Swan-neck, Clémence Poésy as Matilda, Eddie Marsan as King Edward and Juliet Stevenson as Lady Emma.

The series also stars Clare Holman as Gytha, Luther Ford as Tostig, Bo Bragason as Queen Gunhild, Indy Lewis as Margaret. Elander Moore as Morcar, Geoff Bell as Godwin and Jean-Marc Barr as King Henry, as well as Elliott Cowan as Sweyn, Bjarne Henriksen as Earl Siward, Oliver Masucci as Baldwin, Jason Forbes as Thane Thomas, Ingvar Sigurdsson as Fitzosbern, Ines Asserson as Judith, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson as Hardrada and Léo Legrand as Odo.

King and Conqueror will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One next year.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.