Vicky McClure says people needing social care are in ‘real trouble’ and are being neglected
Vicky McClure has said those using the UK’s social care system are being “neglected and left”.
The Line Of Duty actress (pictured) told the PA news agency, at a launch event for streaming platform ITVX, about what she is hearing on the ground as part of her work as Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador.
She said: “The reaction that I get on a very regular basis, now, is we are in trouble, people are in real trouble, and they’re being left and that kind of neglect, it’s the world that we live in.
“Now, there really are solutions, and I want to help as much as I can, I have my hands tied to a certain degree, but as much as I can use the platform that I’ve got (I will).”
McClure urged MPs in October to step into the shoes of dementia carers after she released the second series of her BBC show Our Dementia Choir.
She formed the Nottingham-based musical group in 2019 after her late grandmother Iris’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s taught her the healing power of music.
The 39-year-old actress has been a vocal advocate for charities supporting the families of carers ever since.
Earlier this year, the choir and McClure released What’s Your Story? which was recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios in north London, becoming the first dementia choir to do so.
McClure added: “I’m in it for the long haul because it means a lot to me, they’re my friends and I care a lot about everyone who is struggling with the support sector at the moment, there is a real need.”
McClure also spoke about the “strong friendship” she shares with her co-star Johnny Harris, who helped her in the “difficult” scenes of Without Sin.
The pair, who have also starred in This Is England together, are in the upcoming ITVX four-part drama where McClure plays the role of a grieving mother whose 14-year-old daughter is found dead at their family home.
The hooded figure of Harris’s character is seen standing over her daughter’s body and McClure in the Nottingham-based drama then agrees to visit him in prison as part of Restorative Justice.
McClure said: “The fact that me and Johnny have got a very strong friendship, years old… that was very helpful, and some of the scenes are very difficult.”
Harris then said: “It’s a very intimate show, especially the relationship between Vicky and myself, our characters, and it’s in a prison visit, and ultimately, across the table so it’s very intimate, very controlled.
“She’s my best friend and she’s also the best actress on the planet. She’s going to blush and she is… it’s a pleasure.”
The full series of Without Sin will be on ITVX from December 22.
The new streaming platform ITVX launches on December 8.
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