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.”
