TV star Vicky McClure is best known for hard-hitting dramas Line of Duty and Trigger Point but her next venture will take her a lot closer to home. The Wollaton-born actress will be teaming up with her 97-year-old grandad Ralph for a new ITV show.
In Vicky McClure: My Grandad’s War (the working title) she will explore her grandfather’s Royal Navy history. The pensioner was a World War II hero, who helped to invade France during the Normandy Landings - one of the most pivotal and dangerous operations in wartime Britain.
The BAFTA-winning actress will trace her grandad’s extraordinary story, talking in depth to him at home in Nottingham and then heading back to the Normandy shore to retrace his very personal journey. Vicky will also reunite her grandad with surviving friends from the war, understanding the incredible sacrifice the men made.
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Ralph will show his granddaughter the ropes aboard the last remaining WWII landing craft, one of the ships which helped win the war. In the programme, described as "candid, personal and touching", ITV viewers will get a rare opportunity to see Vicky behind-the-scenes, as she celebrates her ‘legend’ of a grandad and pays tribute to the war hero.
Vicky said: "My grandad is a real character and I can’t wait for everyone to meet him. He’s a legend in my eyes and what he achieved in the Royal Navy should be celebrated. This programme gave me an opportunity to spend time with him, learn from him and get a real glimpse into the courageous events of the Normandy Landings."
The one-off special is produced by All3Media Group’s North One, from their Birmingham studios, and Build Your Own Films, Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen’s production company, which partnered with the group earlier this year.
North One chief executive, Neil Duncanson, said: "Working with BYO has been superb. And it’s the first All3Media acquisition working alongside its newest partner. Jonny and I met to talk about a drama project and the conversation drifted into Vicky’s amazing grandad – an extraordinary tale I didn’t know – and the rest was pretty straightforward.”
Vicky McClure: My Grandad’s War has been commissioned for ITV by Tom Giles, ITV Controller of Current Affairs, who said the film is a very candid journey with one of the last surviving World War II heroes alongside his granddaughter, who happens to be one of the country's leading actors. " Vicky will guide ITV viewers through this very touching and poignant special, helping us understand the magnitude of one of the most dangerous expeditions of the war - the Normandy Landings,” he said.
BYO co-founder, and Vicky's partner, Jonny Owen, described it as an important documentary telling an incredible story. "A generation of people who fought for our freedom are leaving us now and it's essential we understand their sacrifice and how important it was so that we can live the lives we live today," he said.
"Vicky’s grandad Ralph has become a dear friend and I’ve listened to him for hours telling me how as a teenager he was part of one of the most important moments in human history. I’m so glad we can now share this with the world,” he said.
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