Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen: Meet the hosts of Britain's Murder Map
Husband and wife team Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen are travelling Britain to dive into some of the country's best known crimes.
Image: Britain's Murder Map with Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen
Crime, history and the stories that shaped Britain’s darkest moments take centre stage in Britain’s Murder Map, a new Sky HISTORY documentary series hosted by husband-and-wife duo Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen, starting Tuesday 7 April at 9pm.
Travelling across the country, the pair investigate some of Britain’s most infamous historical crimes, speaking to police officers, historians, experts and the families still affected by the cases today. Combining McClure’s investigative documentary experience and Owen’s production background, the series provides a compelling look at the events that left their mark on communities across the UK.
But who exactly are the two hosts behind the show – and what makes them the perfect pair to front Britain’s Murder Map? Join us at Sky HISTORY as we take a closer look at the careers of Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen ahead of the first episode.
Who is Vicky McClure?
Vicky McClure is a British actress who has several iconic roles in UK shows and films under her belt. Born on 8th May 1983 in Nottingham, Vicky showed an interest in the arts from a young age, beginning dance lessons at three years old.
She comes from a regular working-class background, which meant that she had the opportunity to audition for the Central Junior Television Workshop. This organisation offers training in film, television, radio and theatre to those from working-class backgrounds between the ages of 7 to 21.
When she was 11, McClure was recalled after an unsuccessful audition and began to train at the workshop. While she was there, she studied under the tutelage of actress Samantha Morton (also a Nottingham-born actress).
By the age of 16, Vicky was offered a place at the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts after a successful audition. However, she stayed at the workshop as her family could not afford to pay the school’s tuition fees.
McClure initially landed the part of Ladine Brass in the independent Shane Meadows film A Room for Romeo Brass when she was 15. Even with the help of an agent, she struggled to keep up the momentum with her acting career.
When she was 19, Vicky decided to give up acting and worked in retail. However, she later resumed auditioning while working a part-time office job in Nottingham. It eventually led to her getting the role of Lorraine 'Lol' Jenkins in the television show This is England ‘86, a role that she would reprise for almost a decade.
Since her breakout role in that series, Vicky has gone on to have a successful and critically acclaimed acting career. Some of her most notable roles include Lana Washington in Trigger Point, Karen White in Broadchurch and Detective Inspector Kate Fleming in Line of Duty.
Britain’s Murder Map isn’t Vicky’s first foray into hosting documentaries. In 2018, she hosted the Our Dementia Choir documentary, wherein she formed a choir made up of various people in Nottingham living with dementia. She was inspired to do so after seeing how inspiring music could be following her own grandmother’s Alzheimer's diagnosis.
She also hosted a one-off documentary in 2023, Vicky McClure: My Grandad’s War, about her grandfather and his role on D-Day in World War II.
Who is Jonny Owen?
Hailing from Wales, Jonny Owen is a historian, writer, producer and actor. Born on 4th July 1971 in Merthyr Tydfil, Owen started acting while he was attending Swansea University.
His entertainment career began even before that, though, as he was lead singer/songwriter and bass player for an indie band called The Pocket Devils in the 90s. The band was moderately successful, even signing to Sanctuary Records record label. However, the band and the label mutually split before their music career could take off.
Owen’s first acting role was in 1999 in a Welsh drama series called Nuts and Bolts. He went on to have various roles in well-known television shows such as Torchwood, Murphy’s Law
, Shameless, Dirty Work and My Family. A pivotal moment in Jonny’s career came when he was filming a music video for the song “Is It Over?” by the British rock band Gene. It was here that he met Irvine Welsh, a Scottish writer with whom Owen would go on to work with extensively.
He wrote and produced various projects over the years and received critical acclaim for his work. In 2006, he co-produced and wrote a documentary on the Aberfan disaster for which he was awarded a BAFTA Cymru. Owen also wrote and starred in a cult internet series, Svengali, which later became a feature film.
Some of Owen’s most prominent works include directing the films I Believe In Miracles in 2015 and Don’t Take Me Home in 2017. He also worked on a three-part series called Together Stronger for the BBC and a football documentary, The Three Kings, for Amazon.
Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen
Vicky and Jonny met in 2012 while filming Svengali. Owen wrote, produced and starred in the film as Dixie, while McClure played the character’s girlfriend Shell.
The two instantly formed a bond and have been a couple ever since. On the podcast How To Fail With Elizabeth Day, Vicky spoke about how quickly the two of them became inseparable. She states that she and Owen 'lived together from a week of meeting', and that since then they have 'never lived apart'.
‘I am not sure about fate, but I couldn't see my life without him,’ Vicky went on to say. ‘When you finally meet someone who gets you, lets you fly, loves you for who you are, and you can have that genuine laughter, it's amazing.’
After getting engaged in 2017, the pair got married at the Metronome specialist venue in Nottingham in 2023. They settled in Nottingham so that they could live closer to McClure’s family. Jonny has one child, Katie Owen, from a previous marriage.
McClure and Owen are a respected and professional pair who have more than earned their stripes in the entertainment and arts world. Both are BAFTA award winners in their field.
Vicky won the BAFTA Television Award for her role as Lol in This is England ‘86 in 2011. She also won the RTS Television Award for the same role. She also went on to win the TV Times Award and the TV Choice Award in 2021 for Favourite Actress and Best Actress for her role as Kate Fleming in Line of Duty.
McClure has also been nominated at the National Television Awards for the role of Kate as well as for the role of Lana Washington in Trigger Point.
As mentioned, Owen is also a BAFTA winner, as he won the 2006 BAFTA Cymru award at the BAFTA in Wales for The Aberfan Disaster documentary. He won several awards for his 2006 film Little White Lies, and was nominated for the Michael Powell Award in 2013 for Svengali.
Watch Britain's Murder Map on Sky HISTORY
The pair is truly dedicated to the arts, so much so that they created a production company in 2021 called Build Your Own Films. Their first production was the ITV drama Without Sin, which was released in 2022. The company also managed to secure backing from All3Media, a global distribution and production group. This partnership is set to help the company develop both scripted and non-scripted projects.
Build Your Own Films is already building on their productions, especially when it comes to different kinds of documentaries. Productions in development include a football documentary and a period drama with multiple parts. The combined experience, passion and knowledge of the production industry make Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen a powerhouse team when it comes to hosting Britain’s Murder Map.
Be sure to watch Britain’s Murder Map with Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen when the series begins on Tuesday 7th April at 9pm on Sky HISTORY. Want to hear the latest on more upcoming series? Subscribe to the Sky HISTORY newsletter today. Every week you’ll receive news, articles, clips and competitions delivered straight to your inbox.
