A computer whizz who has worked on hit shows including The Crown and Line of  Duty has won one of TV's highest accoclades; an Emmy award.

Former Ripon Grammar School (RGS) pupil Mark Hills and his business partner Marc Bakos have created a ground-breaking audio production system credited with revolutionising the industry.

And it won the pair the highest honour for work in television for their role in creating soundtracks for TV series such as The Crown, The Queen’s Gambit, The Flight Attendant and Line of Duty.

Mark, 41, 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 Gravity, starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.

The Northern Echo: Mark Hills with his Emmy awardMark Hills with his Emmy award (Image: RGS)

But this Emmy – an elite Primetime version, which is one of the most sought-after of the top TV accolades – has his name on it.

He said: “This is different because it's for something I conceived, and it has my name engraved on it.

"I'm very proud.

"It's great that as a technologist these awards are within reach.

"We hadn't had any previous contact with the Television Academy, the judges seemed to be really impressed with what we had done."

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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.

Emmy judges credited the pioneering new audio production for changing the way post-production studios are being built.

But Mark says it was thanks to being ahead of the curve that their business was ready to fulfil the needs of the pandemic.

After 13 years working at Framestore and in need of a break, he resigned in January 2020, working out his notice until March.

The Northern Echo: Mark Hills with his Emmy awardMark Hills with his Emmy award (Image: RGS)

He said: “I left the office on the Thursday, with no job to go to, and the World Health Organisation announced the global pandemic on the Friday, so suddenly any travel options were off the table.”

Mark, who used to be DJ for RGS school discos and went on to work in radio, had been developing a side business in his spare time, creating software for radio stations to enable broadcasters to make programmes from home.

He said: "Suddenly, everyone was trying to work out how best to produce shows and do interviews away from studios in the pandemic and he got a call from the BBC, who wanted to use Cleanfeed.

“I realised the need was pressing and the timing meant I was going to be at home, so it was a great project to work on.

“Having just left Framestore, I also realised its potential in audio post-production for film and TV, where the sound you hear is often not recorded on set but recreated afterwards.

“There has been a lot of cross-pollination, with features and ideas from radio adapted for film and TV.

"Ideas developed for podcasters, for example, have helped improve the functionality used in film.

“It’s the intersection of creativity and technology that really excites me.!

For now, Cleanfeed is tailored towards professional use, but a free version does enable people outside the industry to do more from home.

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