THE star-studded Emmy awards ceremony in Hollywood is a far cry from Wheatley Park School’s assembly hall, writes Alex Wynick.

But former pupil Michele Clapton received her second Emmy, for her work on hit television show Game of Thrones, now in its fourth series.

The 54-year-old is the costume designer for the HBO series, shown on Sky, set in the fantasy world of Westeros.

Talking to the Oxford Mail yesterday, Ms Clapton said: “It’s amazing, it’s a great thing for the whole team. It’s a good spur on to the next series.”

Oxford Mail:

Some of Michele Capton's costumes from the hit TV series

On Saturday night Ms Clapton received this year’s Outstanding Costumes For A Series award for her work on the episode The Lion And The Rose at the Creative Arts Emmys, a black-tie gala held at Hollywood’s Nokia Theatre as a prelude to the main awards for film-makers this weekend.

She said: “It’s funny, I actually didn’t like the episode that we submitted for the award, but they persuaded me to submit it.

“I think Game of Thrones is so big now the judges really look at the whole series, not just the episode you put forward.”

Speaking about the show’s worldwide popularity, she said: “When I started it was just a pilot and nobody knew whether it would take off.

“Now it’s grown into this phenomenon and we’ve grown with it.

“The scale of Game of Thrones is just epic, we have hundreds of costumed cast members on two sets.”

Ms Clapton, who now lives in London, but grew up in Great Milton, near Thame, began her career in fashion design at the City of Oxford College in Oxpens.

Her mother, Jane, said: “It was in dressmaking, and then she won a place at the London College of Fashion.

“She used to design her own clothes all the time.

“She didn’t know what she wanted to do, but no way did I think it would bring her here.”

The proud 76-year-old mother, who now lives in Stonesfield with her husband Trevor, said: “It took her a long time to get into film; it was a gradual process.

“Before this she did things for the BBC, such as Casanova with David Tennant, but Game of Thrones was her big break. She’s a workaholic sort of person, and this has picked up other work for her.”

She said: “She comes home and does all her sketches in big books when she comes up with things.

“As soon as she gets an idea I think she wants to get it down.”

Jane said the show had allowed the family a glimpse into the world of showbusiness.

 

Oxford Mail:

Michele Clapton meets the Queen on the Game of Thrones set in Dublin

 

She said: “Michele met the Queen when she was shown around the Dublin set back in June. “We went up on the set ourselves and met the actor Charles Dance, which was just unbelievable.”

Ms Clapton previously won a costumes Emmy in 2012 for the second season of Game of Thrones and a BAFTA for her work on Channel 4 drama The Devil’s Whore. The Creative Arts awards, held a week prior to the main Emmys, focus on the behind-the-scenes creative disciplines of television production, such as costumes and hair-styling.

For Michele and Game of Thrones, her win is a good omen for the main game, this weekend’s 66th annual prime-time Emmy Awards.

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