Vicky McClure: ‘I’ve experienced coercive control – it’s so subtle’

Vicky McClure is a class act – a working-class act. Born in Nottingham to a joiner dad and hairdresser mum, she entered the world of entertainment via Nottingham’s Television Workshop, which prides itself in not turning talented young actors away if they can’t afford theatre school fees. Bursaries and monthly payments are offered to keep access to training available to actors from all backgrounds. McClure joined at age 11 – back then the scheme allowed her to train for free. She has always been vocal about the importance of working-class representation on screen and in the arts more widely. “Working-class actors are struggling for work because there isn’t enough work,” she says. “There’s not enough stories that are being told about working-class people where you can hire working-class people.” And she might be right – 2024 research found that 35 per cent of Bafta-nominated actors were privately educated, compared with 7 per cent of the general public. But McClure isn’t all about the numbers. “The thing is, everyone’s so hot on stats,” she says. “They want the hard facts, and I appreciate that – I don’t have them. I’m not a politician. I don’t have the spreadsheets in front of me. I don’t check it daily. What I feel is what I go on, and what I feel is we’re going backwards again.” She’s played some of the most iconic characters in British TV in the last few decades, including Kate Fleming in Line of Duty, This Is England’s Lol and bomb disposal officer Lana in Trigger Point. McClure returns as ‘expo’ Lana Washington in a new series of ‘Trigger Point’. She says she was attracted to the role after finding out about the lack of female explosives officers (Photo: HTM Television/ITV) McClure’s pride in her success is clear, but even stronger is her determination to go for parts that tell British working-class stories. “Trigger Point and Line of Duty have fiercely working-class casts. The creatives around it, from [Line of Duty creator] Jed Mercurio to [Line of Duty executive producer] Jimmy Mulville, are working-class lads so they understand that world.” She credits her early work with This Is England director Shane Meadows for giving her the acting and improvisation skills for getting her where she is today. “What I want is equality,” McClure says. “It’s about fairness of opportunity.” Without this, she says, the industry and audience suffers – so more money needs to be put into “the right places” to attract and nurture talent. “You have to say it out loud, otherwise it’s not acknowledged. These are billion-dollar industries. The audience is suffering because they’re missing out on the next Daniel Day-Lewis. The next Julie Walters.” We’re meeting in a quiet corner of a London hotel, where her Trigger Point castmates pass by to chat and check in about holiday plans. The ITV thriller returns for a fourth series tonight. She recalls feeling attracted to the role of Lana Washington after finding out about the lack of female “expos” – explosives officers. The first episode opens with Lana’s conversation with a therapist, unloading about what it’s like to wonder if each mission, each disaster, will be your last. This series sees Lana visit a therapist to tackle her PTSD after experiencing acute trauma both professionally and personally (Photo: HTM Television/ITV) We see her come to terms with the PTSD she has developed as a result of the trauma and burden she carries with her job. These gorgeous scenes are partially improvised, which was important for McClure to get across an authentic portrayal of PTSD. “Some people are really good at accents, or really good at stunts. And it’s not like I’m saying I’m really good, but I’m always comfortable improvising,” she says. Bringing authenticity to the role is crucial – especially with a character like Lana, who has experienced such acute trauma professionally and personally. “I feel like if you have that option, you can really capture some moments that are probably harder to put into a script because it’s natural to just want to keep the story moving,” McClure says. Her role as Nicola in Dominic Savage’s I Am… series lies outside of her action star remit, but it remains some of the most important work McClure has ever done. Nicola Coughlan is set to star in an upcoming episode centered around the manosphere, but McClure starred in the first episode of the series back in 2019, which sees Savage work closely with each female lead to build the story. She portrayed a hairdresser in a relationship ruled by coercive control from her partner, played by her This Is England co-star Perry Fitzpatrick. Coercive control was criminalised in 2015, and yet 49,557 offences were recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025, an increase from the previous year. “It’s a show I’m very proud of,” McClure reflects, adding that she “improvised the whole thing” with old friend Fitzpatrick. ‘I’m always comfortable improvising,’ says McClure (Photo: Billie Scheepers) “I think the thing with coercive control – which I had experienced many years ago – is that it’s so subtle. It doesn’t necessarily need to be physical or anything like that,” McClure says. “I think for women to see that on screen and be able to relate to what that show showcased was important for me. To try – just by tiny tones and scenarios – to show that the relationship wasn’t balanced.” Inevitably, our conversation turns to the elephant in the corner of every room she enters: Line of Duty. The BBC procedural began in 2012 and within a couple series was a national phenomenon, making McClure a household name for her role as DCI Kate Fleming. Its seventh series return is a surprise, as the 2022 finale was promoted as its last. When we speak, McClure has only just landed back from filming in Ireland. “I’m fresh out of Belfast; we only finished filming two weeks ago,” she says. “I feel like I’ve bagged the best gigs over the years – I was unsure if I’d ever get a job at one point. You just can’t predict this industry at all. So, to be able to continually go back to a series and work with good friends like Martin [Compston] and Adrian [Dunbar], who are like family. It was a real pleasure.” So what can we expect from Line of Duty’s big return? Well, what we do know is our beloved AC-12 has been rebranded to the “Inspectorate of Police Standards”, and will be assigned an investigation into a detective inspector accused of abusing his position to sexually abuse victims. ‘Line of Duty’ is set to return for a new series after having ‘ended’ in 2022 with a big finale reveal (Photo: Aiden Monaghan/World Productions/BBC) Fans gave mixed reviews on the ultimate reveal of the identity of “H”, the corrupt copper who outsmarted our much-loved trio for six seasons. Will we be faced with a U-turn? Will “H” be found to have an accomplice? Will Martin Compston’s Steve ever find lasting love? Predictably, McClure is sworn to secrecy. “All I can say is I believe – and Martin and Adrian have said the same – that Jed’s written the best script.” ‘Trigger Point’ starts tonight at 9pm on ITV