Jonny Owen and Vicky McClure: they are the showbiz Merthyr/Nottingham couple who many will know for their combined acting, film-making and football passion.
Owen, 50, hails from Merthyr Tydfil and has gone on to become a producer, actor and writer - appearing in TV shows like Shameless and Murphy's Law - while McClure, of course, is known to millions as DI Kate Fleming in BBC hit drama Line of Duty.
Owen, whose daughter Katie is a DJ, and McClure have appeared on screen together several times - most notably in This is England - but let's take a closer look at Jonny's story, career and passions.
What TV shows and films has Jonny Owen starred in?
Many will know Jonny for his form in sporting films and documentaries.
He was the director of I Believe In Miracles, the story of the history-making Nottingham Forest team which won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980 under Brian Clough.
He also directed Don’t Take Me Home, the story of Wales’ incredible journey at Euro 2016.
He was also the producer/presenter of ITV Wales Soccer Sunday and is currently a director at Nottingham Forest after joining in March 2018.
But before all that, Jonny landed the part of Richey in Welsh drama Nuts and Bolts in 1999, Murphy's Law alongside James Nesbitt and Dirty Work with Neil Pearson. He has also worked with Irvine Welsh on several dramas, including Dose, Wedding Belles and Good Arrows.
His Little White Lies film - featured at the Moscow Film Festival - followed in 2006, and he won the Gwyn Alf Williams Award at the Welsh BAFTAs for the 40th anniversary documentary of the Aberfan disaster on ITV Wales. He also played Ady in Channel 4 series Shameless, and played Welsh singing legend Sir Tom Jones in independent film A Bit of Tom Jones in 2009.
Enter Svengali. He wrote and starred in the series and the following feature-length rock 'n' roll film proved pivotal in introducing Jonny and Vicky.
The attraction was instant and they fell in love, initially moving in together in London, before putting down roots in Vicky’s hometown of Nottingham - after Jonny spent months living with Vicky's parents while she worked away and house-hunting continued.
“When Vicky first came on board I didn’t know what she was going to be like as a person,” Jonny previously said. “I had a long conversation with her on the phone and we got on great then. So I had an idea then that she was a lovely person.
“Obviously, I thought she was incredibly attractive. When I met her for the first time we got on very well.
“Then I remember we were walking down Southbank [in London] on a weekend break from filming and we were going to the Tate Modern and she turned to me and asked me if I fancied going to the pub instead. And I was like, well, yeah!
“I thought, ‘What a girl’. I think we almost simultaneously both went, ‘I fancy you’! It just tumbled from there and we haven’t been apart since that moment.
“I was going through a divorce at the time and I’d been separated for seven or eight months,” he adds. “I was single, she was single and I was living in London. So when we finished filming she moved down to London with me.
“I think we went from ‘I like you’ in the pub to ‘I love you’ in about 10 seconds.
“In the scenes in the film where we have to look like we’re in love, there really is a chemistry there and that’s because we were in a place where we weren’t having to force acting being in love.”
They became engaged on Christmas Day in 2017.
Jonny Owen and football
Football is a huge part of Jonny's life, having brought fans I Believe in Miracles and Don't Take Me Home.
He landed his own talkSPORT radio show in 2020, his first foray into national radio although he was no stranger to the station.
"I think there’s a great culture around football that involves film, music, fashion, books and all those things that come into it," he previously said.
He also covered Wales' Euro 2020 exploits for talkSPORT from Merthyr Town FC.
Vicky is a Notts County fan thanks to her County-supporting grandad, whereas the rest of her family are Forest fans.
Vicky an adopted Merthyr native
You could say 38-year-old actress McClure has been somewhat adopted as a Merthyr local since meeting Jonny, and she can't speak highly enough of the Valleys community.
“I’m very very fond of Wales and I’m very fond of Merthyr. When I first went to Merthyr, I kind of went 'wow, what is this place?' I've never felt a welcome like it, just going down to the local pubs," she previously told WalesOnline.
"In some ways it feels like going back in time to when it was just all about knocking on your next door neighbour for a pint of milk and that kind of pitching in and community spirit. I just love the place. I love being there because it feels like everybody's there to have a laugh and enjoy themselves and look after each other, and the loyalty. That's my view on Merthyr."
Sponsors of Merthyr Town FC
Ahead of the 2021-22 season, Owen and McClure's production company BYO Films became sponsors of Merthyr Town FC's shorts (the shirt was unavailable to sponsor).
Penydarren Park, their ground, has actually played host to McClure in the odd karaoke session or two - as she took to the mic a few Christmases ago with Wales Euro 2016 anthem 'Don't Take Me Home'.
"That was a good moment," she said. "I think it's criminal not to sing when I'm in Wales.
"With the Dementia Choir as well, I've just learnt to go 'everyone can sing'. As long as I've had a few pints, who cares? Everyone joins in anyway, you can't even hear yourself sing because it's a very communal thing!"
Jonny added: "It went down really well, as you can imagine in a pub full of Welshmen, had the whole pub singing. She's got a good voice, actually!"
As for the sponsorship deal, Jonny added: "They were the first football club I went to see and it's always been something close to my heart. I wanted to do something for my hometown. It's more than a football club, it's the heart of the town, and it's really important it's there because it gives people belief, and that's the most important thing you can have. If we can bring a little bit of attention, a little bit of money to the club, it's so important to the town's character and our history, really."
