We’ll marry as and when, says Duty star
LINE of Duty actor Vicky McClure has spoken about her delayed wedding to her partner, Welsh director Jonny Owen.
The star of the popular BBC crime drama appeared on The Graham Norton Show last night to talk about the new, sixth, series and was asked about her wedding plans to Owen, who is known for his TalkSport show and Sunday Times column, as well as directing football documentary films Don’t Take Me Home and I Believe in Miracles.
The couple were engaged on Christmas Day 2017, but hadn’t found the time to tie the knot yet, with Vicky joking that the pair – who met on the set of Jonny’s 2014 film Svengali – will “end up at Gretna Green”.
Telling the host about their plans, Vicky said: “We didn’t get married, but we haven’t even booked it. I’d marry him tomorrow, but we’ve never got around to cementing the plan. We will probably end up at Gretna Green!”
Line of Duty co-star Adrian Dunbar also appears on the episode and the pair discussed the popularity of Line of Duty and the new series.
Vicky, talking about the 13 million viewers who tuned in for the last series, added: “It was a slow burn. The first series was great, but we didn’t know we would get a second one. Then we got a second one and halfway through that suddenly the numbers built and since then it’s just taken off – it’s big and the anticipation is massive. It’s intense.”
Asked if they can reveal anything about the plot, Adrian added: “18 months have passed so the landscape has completely changed. We are starting from a place that the audience will probably find a bit shocking at first. Things and people have been moved around so the first episode is going to be one of those ‘head-wrecks’ for the audience.”
In 2020, the Western Mail sat down (virtually, of course) with Vicky and Merthyr Tydfil’s Jonny and they spoke about their engagement and wedding plans. Jonny proposed to Vicky over
Christmas 2017 by putting a ring box in the middle of Vicky’s most beloved thing – teabags.
“Vicky, who makes the first cuppa of the day, remember, went in among the teabags and I had visions of her putting her hands to her face and starting to cry, but nope, nothing, it was the complete opposite,” Jonny revealed.
“She said, ‘What’s that?’ I was, like, ‘Well have a look, open it’. She opened it and asked me what it was, and I said, ‘It’s a ring, isn’t it? Will you marry me?’ It was the biggest anticlimax ever. But she said yes, so that was OK.”
“The ring was in a box, so I was a bit confused, it was early morning, it was Christmas Day,” Vicky said. “You know when you’re half-asleep, I was like, ‘What’s that?’ and he said, ‘It’s a ring’ and I was like, ‘What?’ Completely confused. Half-asleep. Christmas Day.
“We tried to get the wedding booked and we kept looking at different things, but what was going on this year workwise and now the way the world is, we were never going to find the time. I feel for a lot of people who have had weddings booked and arranged.
“So we will get around to the big day as and when.
“For now, I’m happy to have a curry with my joggers on, watching telly with Jonny. That’s the pinnacle!”
■ The Graham Norton Show aired on BBC One and is available on iPlayer.