Vicky McClure and Johnny Harris were involved in perhaps the most intense scene ever filmed for a British television drama. No one who saw This Is England ’86 will forget their final scene together. And in the white heat of Shane Meadows’ masterpiece, a deep and lasting friendship was forged.
“I don’t think a week has gone by in the 13 years since that we haven’t spoken on the phone. It is usually every day,” says Harris.
McClure, sitting alongside him on the sofa, laughs. “We’ve seen the best and the worst of each other. We’ve been there when we’re going through our greatest hours. And we’ve been there when we’re at our lowest ebbs.”
Ten years after McClure and Harris finally decided it was arrives on ITVX. And to the surprise of no one, the four-part series – on which they are both executive producers as well as lead actors, and which they helped create via McClure and her partner Jonny Owen’s new production company Build Your Own Films – is not a comedy. Nope. This is another heavy drama. Brilliantly written, filmed and acted in Nottingham. We meet at Metronome, an arts venue in the city’s thriving Creative Quarter.
