When Flip met Rita – watch UTV Life tonight

It was all lights, camera and Game of Thrones action on the Causeway coast as UTV Life reporter Rita Fitzgerald heads to the North Coast to meet Flip Robinson of Giant Tours Ireland. Eleanor McGillie of Live It Experience It chats with Flip about what’s coming up on tonight’s UTV Life

Tonight, the Lonely Planet recommended Causeway Coastal Route will feature on our screens as the UTV Life team take the coastal route to find Flip who we all know and love as the stand in actor for Hodor and The Mountain in Season Six of Game of Thrones.

It has been well documented how this stretch of Northern Ireland was recommended last year by Lonely Planet as a must visit location but it is also the mythical land of the Westeros which has been attracting Game of Thrones fans from all over the world.

Filming locations across Northern Ireland for the HBO hit series have seen an influx of tourists here and Flip Robinson’s Giant Tours Ireland has attracted five star rated reviews on TripAdvisor for his authentic Game of Thrones guided tours.

The tours, which are totally independent and not affiliated with HBO, take visitors from countries from all over the world to exact filming locations. They get to set foot on the actual locations where the Game of Thrones ® scenes were filmed, seeing where the cast, countless crew and support staff filmed and set up camp to capture the series’ incredible footage.

Tonight, we will all see Flip on UTV Life as he roved around some of these famous locations with reporter Rita Fitzgerald and cameraman Simon Crook.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s programme, which will be aired at 8pm, Flip said: “This was such a great experience with Rita and Simon, the cameraman, to showcase to the world how spectacular the Causeway Coastal route is.

“We met up in Ballycastle and then travelled to Murlough Bay which is better known in the Seven Kingdoms as Slaver’s Bay. From here, we toured with the crew to Fairhead which is known to fans as Dragonstone Cliffs. HBO filmed parts of Season Seven at Fairhead, forming the backdrop for much of Episode Three, ‘The Queen’s Justice’, which saw Jon Snow finally meet Daenerys and her dragons at Dragonstone, and reunite with Tyrion Lannister.

“We then moved on to Larrybane Quarry. Larrybane was the dramatic spot chosen for Renly Baratheon’s camp in Season Two. From Larrybane we toured on to Ballintoy Harbour. This little seaside village becomes Pyke, capital of The Iron Islands, in Game of Thrones.

“We then finished at Glenarm on the Causeway Coastal Route where we explore the positive impact of filming for the tourism industry here. And with Season 8 fast approaching I believe we are in for a bumper season of tourists coming here.

“I am really looking forward to seeing this area promoted on UTV Life. We are so lucky to live and work in such a spectacular place so it is always an honour to show it off to the rest of the world.

“I really enjoyed being part of this and it was great fun working with Rita. Anyone who knows me knows I am tall so Rita had to hop up onto a rock to reach new heights.”

Cameraman Simon Crook said: “The programme is highlighting the impact that Game of Thrones has had so far on Northern Ireland. We look at the increase in tourism and the growth and development of local businesses.”

The eighth and final season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones was announced by HBO in July 2016. Unlike the first six seasons that each had 10 episodes and the seventh that had seven episodes, the eighth season, which airs in April, will have six episodes. HBO will be filming three prequels in the future and leaving legacy sets as tourism destinations in Northern Ireland.

 

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