6 secrets behind making Game Of Thrones’ Battle Of Winterfell

It took 55 straight nights to shoot

‘We had 11 weeks of night shooting, so that was quite a feat for any crew to go through,’ producer Duncan Muggoch explained.

Bernadette Caulfield, executive producer of the show, backed up the horror they put themselves through.

She added: ‘You would start your evening at 6 o’clock at night and you would go home at 5 o’clock in the morning… That’s brutal. Your body never fully acclimates to that 100%.’

Bet those odd nightshifts now and again don’t sound too bad now, huh?

The weather was -14 degrees and was too cold to snow

Throughout the fight on Winterfell, Daenerys Targaryen was seen in the coldest part of the battle, with the flames surrounding the main castle gates and her dragons providing her warmth.

However, dragons aren’t real – so poor Emilia Clarke felt it all.

‘When I was doing it, it was minus 14 degrees,’ Emilia revealed. ‘Just chillin’. Minus 14. In a field. It’s too cold to snow.

‘When it’s too cold to snow, you know you’ve got trouble!’

Noone enjoyed this shoot

It should come to no surprise that it turns out people weren’t completely on board with the horrifically long shoot, the cold weather and the harsh toll the subject matter put on them.

Episode director Miguel Sapochnik put it the most blunt way when he told the camera: ‘Let’s put it this way, I never want to do that again. I don’t think anybody who did that, wants to do that again.’

Shooting the sequence in Belfast, everyone HBO asked admitted that they struggled.

‘I’m not going to lie – it was horrible!’ stunt co-ordinator Rowley Irlam laughed, but added that he tried to see the most of it.

‘We enjoy the world,’ he added. ‘And I said to my guys “You might not want to do it again, but you won’t regret doing it the first time.”’

The giant that killed Lyanna is a real human

The creepy looking giant that crushed poor little Lyanna in his hands (RIP you absolute hero) – was not made of CGI as most would assume. He’s an actual human being.

Ian White, a seven foot five stuntman, was brought in to take on the role of the giant, already towering over Lyanna actress Bella Ramsay by quite some margin.

Brought on board and placed in front of a green screen, he was shot to look even taller among the other fighters around him, playing with a green doll to fill in Bella’s place.

Later on, Bella shot herself in a crane that was wrapped around her waist, and these were then blended together.

So that’s not just good effects happening there – the giant is the real deal.

Peter Dinklage thought the crypt was a stupid idea too

From the moment the idea appeared to have the women, children and those unable to fight in the crypt in the basement, literally everyone was yelling at the TV screen that that was a bad idea.

And what do you know, just a week later, that whole plan literally turned out to be the worst. Idea. Ever, and royally threw a spanner in the works.

But it turned out even Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, thought it was a terrible idea at the time as well.

‘Nobody thought of that – he’s bringing all the dead people back to life, and they put women and children in a crypt with all the dead people!,’ Peter told the cameras.

‘Tyrion is smart, but not that smart.’

You’re telling us!