Former Ripon Grammar School (RGS) student Mark Hills has won an Emmy award for his work in creating an audio production system credited with revolutionising the television industry.

The computer expert and his business partner Marc Bacos created the ground-breaking system used in the production of innovative soundtracks for hit TV series such as The Crown, The Queen’s Gambit, The Flight Attendant and Line of Duty.

The pair received their Emmys at a glitzy award ceremony in Beverley Hills and afterwards Mr Hills said that receipt of the small screen equivalent of an Oscar had come 'completely out of the blue.'

He added:

Their Cleanfeed system, which works for radio, TV and film, connects studios together so that the quality sounds as if it’s all being recorded in the same room.

Mr Hills, whose parents Peter and Greta live in Sharow, pointed out:

The 41-year-old, who left RGS in 1999 to study computer science at university, is no stranger to awards.

In 2014, he was part of a large team at British visual effects company Framestore which won both the Oscar and Bafta for best visual effects for the film Gravity, starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.

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