'Game of Thrones' Battle of Winterfell scene ruined by Irish police helicopter

A climactic Game of Thrones battle scene filming near Belfast was ruined when an Irish police helicopter passed overhead

The filming of the 'Game of Thrones' Battle of Winterfell scene was ruined when an Irish police helicopter flew overhead during a particularly grueling shoot in Northern Ireland.

Read more: Game of Thrones shot epic final battle for 55 nights straight in Northern Ireland

James Hibbert of Entertainment Weekly was on set and recorded the reaction of one of the production workers.

“F—king spoiler helicopter just flew right over the set!” a crew member is believed to have said.

E3 of #GameOfThones Season 8 will be the battle of Winterfell episode directed by @MigSapochnik & is expected to feature the longest battle sequence in film history. The episode boasts the most characters since the pilot and is said to be longer than LoTR's Helm's Deep siege pic.twitter.com/Pgl3XD6yDd

— Game of Thrones Facts (@thronesfacts) March 4, 2019

The season 8 episode reportedly features the great battle of Winterfell, in which a collection of allies face off against the Night King and his army.

Hibbert reported: “The helicopter seemingly came out of nowhere and flew directly over a ridiculously sensitive scene from the show’s final season. The production is supposed to have government-protected airspace — no planes, no drones, and sure as the seven hells no mystery choppers buzzing Winterfell.

“If paparazzi armed with cameras were on board, their photos would cause an explosion in the entertainment universe. Did anybody get its tail number?”

Read more: R.R. Martin reveals “Game of Thrones” Westeros is an upside down Ireland

A call followed to the Civil Aviation Authority who confirmed it was a police helicopter on a mission, not paparazzi on a shoot hunt.

Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss were visibly relieved.

“There’s always a crisis, there’s always an imminent disaster,” Benioff says. “You never quite know where it’s coming from but, over time, you get a sense of where the real catastrophes are and which ones are probably going to be okay.”

As Hibbert noted: “HBO drama’s final season is the biggest show on the planet, spending 10 months filming just six episodes for its climactic season 8. Expectations are incredibly high.

“The fans will not be let down,” he quotes director David Nutter.

“There are a lot of firsts in these episodes. There’s the funniest sequence I’ve ever shot on this show, the most emotional and compelling scene I’ve ever shot, and there’s one scene where there’s so many [major characters] together it feels like you’re watching a superhero movie.”

The cast shares their feelings on the grueling 'battle of Winterfell' night shoots

“It was the most unpleasant experience I’ve had on Thrones”
-Iain Glen

“Everybody prays they never have to do this again”
-Rory McCann

"I’ve been thrown in at the deep end”
-Maisie Williams pic.twitter.com/UcIan19ETi

— Game of Thrones Facts (@thronesfacts) March 4, 2019

Read more: HBO to open Northern Ireland “Game of Thrones” sets as tourist attractions

Catch the trailer for the final season of 'Game of Thrones' below:

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