Author Bernard Cornwell has revealed he is not a fan of Game Of Thrones.

His historical Saxon novels have been turned into eight-part BBC Two drama series The Last Kingdom and have drawn comparisons with the hit HBO drama based on George RR Martin’s books.

He told Radio Times: “So many characters. So many strands. You have to have large sections where the plot is explained, just have to sit there and be told what’s going on. This is very, very dull. So they put a lot of naked women behind it all.

The Last Kingdom (BBC Pictures)
The Last Kingdom (BBC Pictures)

“They’re called ‘sexplanations’ in the trade. My programmes won’t need sexplanations.”

Another of his famous creations is the character Richard Sharpe, who featured in hit TV series Sharpe.

Actor Sean Bean was cast in the lead role and Cornwell is honest about the fact that Sean was not, at first, his idea of Sharpe.

“But he was terrific and I wrote Sharpe differently after Sean,” he said.

The author, now 71, has not had any say in the adaptation of The Last Kingdom. “I’ll watch it with the rest of you when it goes out on the BBC,” he said.

His books have sold millions all over the world and he is so popular he was mobbed in Brazil.

“It was like being a rock star,” he said. “Never has one elderly Anglo-Saxon been kissed by so many Latino girls.”

The Last Kingdom airs on BBC Two on October 22 at 9pm.