11 things you didn’t know about The Walking Dead – Digital Spy

We know quite a lot about FOX's The Walking Dead. In fact, you could call us experts. Walkers outnumber humans 5000:1? Old news. The show is set in the same universe as Breaking Bad? Yeah, we got the blue meth reference as soon as we saw it. But do you know why chicken breasts turned out to be a sign of respect for Dale? Here are 11 things only The Walking Dead superfans will know.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers, so catch up on the latest episodes on NOW TV before you read.

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1. Every diehard The Walking Dead fan knows that extras need talent to be cast as a walker. Before they even make it to Walker School (where they're taught to walk like they're coming out of a bar at 2am), executive producer Greg Nicotero says he looks out for big eyes, a good bone structure and a long neck for that authentic 'undead' look. Nice.

2. A lot of guts get eaten in Atlanta, but it might not be as disgusting as you think. The 'organs' munched on by the cast are actually hams soaked in vinegar. Not our preferred snack, but definitely preferable to guts.

3. Dale's death at the end of season two was devastating and we're still not over it, but did you know that he actually asked to die? Jeffrey DeMunn reportedly fell out with the show after his friend Frank Darabont was fired halfway through the season and asked to be written out. As a sign of respect, Dale's guts in the death scene were made from chicken breasts instead of vinegar hams. Quite the accolade.

4. Andrew Lincoln is pretty versatile. The British actor is said to have had his scripts written phonetically to help him nail the Georgia accent... although we're most impressed by the fact that his real name is Andrew Clutterbuck. Superb.

5. Props to Dooley the one-eyed dog for keeping it chill in season four episode 13. He might have set off Daryl's noise traps but IRL Dooley lost his eye by saving his owner from a violent carjacker. HERO.

6. Gale Ann Hurd, The Walking Dead's producer, is big on the environment. She might be all for having Paula's cheek ripped off by a walker, but the cast have an intense recycling program, do all of their admin via an app to save on paper and use eco-friendly water bottles on set.

7. One plot twist that never made it into the script could have changed EVERYTHING. During Rick Grimes' fight with Shane, one early script idea proposed that Shane would be the one to make it out alive, leaving Rick in the ground. Woah.

8. Remember Edwin Jenner? The doctor who stayed at the CDC to try and help people stay alive that little bit longer? Well, he was named after Edward Jenner, the English scientist who developed the smallpox vaccine back in the 1790s.

9. IronE Singleton, aka T-Dog, was never meant to die. Rumour has it that the character wasn't too popular, so they killed him off. In the season three prison takeover, it was Carol who was meant to get bitten, but producers reportedly decided to sacrifice T-Dog instead.

10. OK, so we've heard that Norman Reedus originally auditioned to play Merle before he landed the role of his brother Daryl, but did you know the model has been in music videos for Radiohead, Bjork and even Lady Gaga? Yep, Norman is Gaga's Judas.

11. Remember seeing Michonne's face in the second season finale? No? That's because you didn't. Danai Gurira wasn't cast until after the season finished shooting, so the character was played someone else and had her face covered by a hood the whole time.

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11 things you didn't know about The Walking Dead - Digital Spy