Misfits was supposed to kill off Iwan Rheon's Simon in season 1
Showrunner Howard Overman had a change of heart due to Rheon's acting chops
Iwan Rheon's character Simon Bellamy was a major player in Misfits cast for the first three series of the E4 show - but apparently he was almost killed off at the end of the first run.
Misfits showrunner Howard Overman has revealed his initial plan was to get rid of the character but he had a change of heart due to being impressed by Game of Thrones star Rheon's acting chops.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Overman explained, "Originally, Simon was going to go bad at the end of the first series and they were going to kill him. That was the plan. But I really liked Iwan as an actor, he was brilliant.
"I thought, there’s no way we’re killing him and then replacing him with someone worse. And so, I totally flipped it on its head and he went from being the villain to the real hero of the piece."
He added, "It was totally reactive to the show working and the cast working together and I couldn’t bring myself to kill him, so I quickly rewrote the final episode and he didn’t die.
"It just goes to show that things could have been very different. I liked taking this geeky guy, who was quite insecure around women and the boys used to bully him a bit, and having him go on this huge journey where suddenly he was this alpha male and incredibly cool and confident and sleeping with the most beautiful girl."
Misfits centred on a group of teenagers who discover they have superpowers and originally aired on E4 between 2009 and 2013.
In addition to Rheon, who played Ramsay Bolton on Game of Thrones, several of the series' stars have gone on to have successful careers, including The Umbrella Academy star Robert Sheehan.
The show has benefited from renewed interest recently after all five series of Misfits were added to Netflix last month.
Misfits is currently streaming on Netflix. Check out our lists of the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix, or see what else is on with our TV Guide.
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
