(Photo: Getty Images)
Thanks to her roles as Lol in the This Is England series and DI Kate Fleming in Line of Duty, which you can check out on AMC, Vicky McClure has become one of the most popular actresses in British TV. Now, she's starring in Peacock's new London-set crime thriller series Trigger Point, which has already been a big hit in the U.K. Ahead of its July 8 premiere, here are some things you may not know about this captivating and prolific actress.
1. When she was a teenager, she auditioned for London's prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
McClure passed her audition for the school, whose alumni include Russell Brand, William Hartnell, Tracey Ullman, and Lesley Manville. Her parents weren't able to afford the tuition fees, so she had to decline her place. 
2. Instead, she honed her acting chops at The Television Workshop, an after-school drama group in her hometown of Nottingham.
Other actors who cut their teeth there include Samantha Morton, Felicity Jones, Lauren Socha, and Jack O'Connell. "I started out as this little performer, all singing and dancing, but there we did proper kitchen sink stuff. It gave me a taste for the sort of actor I wanted to be," McClure told The Observer. "It definitely wasn't stage school: you’d be laughed at if you turned up wearing jazz shoes. But whatever else came out of you… People cried, did weird s**t… It was a basement where magic happened.”
3. She prides herself on being down-to-earth.
Line of Duty may have made her a famous face in the U.K., but McClure hasn't let it go to her head. “I just feel like I'm such a normal person in an industry that is so chaotic and crazy," she told the i. "I am what I am and I can't change it."
4. In Nottingham, she has a tram named after her.
The tram has a BAFTA logo next to its name in recognition of the BAFTA award that McClure won for This Is England 90. "Anyone on a late-night Vicky McClure tram has my permission to start a sing-song at any time," the actress told the Nottingham Post when the tram made its first journey.
5. On the very same day, McClure was told to get off the tram because she hadn't paid her fare.
Thankfully, it was just a misunderstanding. A rep for the tram's operating company, Nottingham Express Transit, told BBC News: "The travel officer was unaware that Vicky had been offered free travel on the day the tram was named in her honor. As you would expect from her, Vicky took the matter in good part and the situation was soon resolved."
6. She wants to be a role model to other actors from working-class background.
McClure has admitted that early in her career, she would put on a posher accent for auditions. "But, I’ve got to an age now where I think, no, I’m all right," she told The Times of London. "I want to show people you don’t have to have been to big drama schools. Be yourself and you can create something incredible and unique."
7. Her partner is actor-director Jonny Owen.
The couple met when they co-starred in the 2013 British film Svengali. "We hit it off straight away, but we tried not to make a big deal out of it for the sake of the rest of the team, and they didn’t seem too bothered, either," McClure told The Huffington Post. "I’m really chuffed when people tell me they thought we had chemistry on the screen, without them realizing that we were actually together. It’s obviously plain to see."

8. She lived in London for a while, then moved back to her hometown of Nottingham.
McClure certainly has something to say about London's sky-high pub prices. "I begrudge paying that much for a pint. It really does p**s me off," she told The Guardian. "My life is not predominantly my work. Jonny and my family and friends are my priority. I have a great opportunity to dip my toe into London, get loads of stuff done, and then I go home."
9. She once flew on Madonna's private jet... then returned to her office job the next day.
This happened when McClure appeared in Madonna's 2008 movie Filth and Wisdom. At the time, McClure didn't have enough acting work to give up her day job. “I didn’t leave it until I did This is England 86, [in 2010], McClure recalled on The Jonathan Ross Show. "I didn't have a steady career, I had bills to pay."
10. She tends to pull the same pose in publicity photos.
And she's very much aware of this, as she recalled during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. In fairness, it's a great pose!

Do you have a favorite Vicky McClure performance?