Vicky McClure: 'Lol was the most in-depth I've gone with any character' 

Vicky McClure: ‘I think it was more Lol’s style that [Kate Moss] was commending rather than mine.’ Photograph: Pal Hansen Pal Hansen/Pal Hansen

Last modified on Tuesday 3 June 2014 00.10 EDT

You\'re about to return to our screens as DC Kate Fleming in BBC2\'s police thriller

. She\'s a female character in a predominantly male world. Does that appeal to you?Yes, I certainly look for strong characters – whether that means they\'re strong in their vulnerability or strong in the way they might be attractive to lots of blokes. There are different ways of being strong. Kate\'s not vulnerable, she\'s forceful. When I read the first series, it was very much a woman in a man\'s world, but now we\'ve got Keeley Hawes [who plays a detective inspector under investigation] it\'s definitely switched quite a lot of the focus.

seems to be that it\'s very realistic in a way a lot of police procedurals aren\'t.

That\'s all down to Jed [Mercurio], really, the writer. He\'s just got a vast amount of information in his head and he makes sure everything is exactly as it should be. We had a police officer who looks over all the scripts and says, "That does happen…that might not", which is why we\'ve got all the right jargon and dialogue, which is difficult to learn [because] you have to make it sound as if it rolls off your tongue.

It was an interesting part. A journalist can make or break a case in a way because they can figure out things the police can\'t or they can destroy people\'s lives. It was quite a difficult role to take on and I had to think quite carefully about it. The hair extensions were something I requested.

For many of us, your defining role remains Lol in Shane Meadows\'s

– first in the 2006 film and then in the later television series, for which you won a best actress Bafta. You might be sick of talking about her…

Never. It was, and will always be, by far the most in-depth I\'ve ever gone with any character. She was a creation from many years ago, and back then I didn\'t even know we were going to have a series. I was a bit younger for the film and the part was not as detailed. I remember when we did rehearsals for the film, we had to write down the backstory of our characters, and I had written that I thought she was abused by her dad [this later became a key storyline]. There\'s definitely part of me that realised she had this vulnerability that made her so tough, so thick-skinned, a bit masculine. When it came to

, Shane knew I was ready. We all fantasise about getting the big parts but you have to be ready for them. You have to be able to go to that place.

The abuse storyline prompted several people to contact you with their own experiences of abuse. Were you shocked by how widespread the problem was?

Yes, definitely. I would never say I\'m an expert in this subject – I don\'t know the stats and figures – but I think there\'s a reason why

and not This Was England, because a lot of the subject matter brought into the series is still there. We\'ve still got racism, we\'ve still got abuse.

How did your family react to seeing you involved in such difficult storylines on screen?

They were fine. My mum wasn\'t hugely keen on my hair. I had hair down to my bum, so when I got home after they\'d cut it all off she was devastated. But do you know what? I was 21 at the time but I felt quite liberated by the whole thing. There\'s no way you could have faked it without having the full-on look. You\'re either in or you\'re out.

Meadows gave your abusive on-screen father the same name as your real father, Mick…

Yes. I think that\'s just Shane\'s way of doing what he does. But the fact of the matter is that Johnny Harris who plays Mick is a very, very good friend of mine – he\'s the kindest, most incredible human you could ever meet. I trusted Johnny with my life. Dad\'s a very laid-back character – he wouldn\'t have thought too much about it.

No, I\'ve got my own place now. I did a year in London, which was brilliant, but I missed being in Nottingham.

They absolutely love it. They\'re dead supportive and they have been since day dot. We are a very normal family and nobody else and none of my Nottingham friends are involved in the industry. So I get to go home and tell them things that are going on.

So you get to tell them what Madonna\'s really like? [McClure was directed by Madonna in her 2008 film

What about Kate Moss? Didn\'t she meet you once at a party and say she loved your style?

She did, yes. I think it was more Lol\'s style she was commending rather than mine. The first thing she said was, "Oh my God, I fucking love you". She was good fun, and there was the odd invitation [from her] after that.

I went for a curry on Saturday night and I got recognised in the curry house. It was one of those awkward ones:

So I\'m, "Oh, forget it". I think it\'s because people expect me to have bleached blond hair.

You\'re an alumnus of Nottingham\'s respected Television Workshop (past students include Samantha Morton). Were you auditioning from a young age?

. I just had to walk up the stairs. They kept the take where I slipped slightly, which was annoying. Then my first major role was at 15 in

Has auditioning got any better the more you\'ve been doing it?

No! I think it\'s getting even scarier for me… I lost out on a job just before Christmas and I was devastated. It really knocked me because I did all the prep I could possibly do… and yet you don\'t get it, and it\'s not because you can\'t act, it\'s because the chemistry doesn\'t work or you\'re slightly too short. It does knock you for a bit.

Yes, it is! Oh my God, this is never going to leave me. She is the sweetest thing. She\'s a bichon frise called Molly and when we took her to the vet he did his routine checks and said, "You\'ve got yourself a girl… no, a boy… no, it\'s a girl… no, it\'s both".

The second series of Line of Duty begins on 28 January on BBC2

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