Vicky McClure brings daytime disco to Norwich for first time

Actress Vicky McClure has said she and her husband get a huge buzz from the joy their popular daytime disco brings as she prepares to “dance like nobody’s watching” in Norwich.

The Line of Duty star will be on stage with filmmaker Jonny Owen at the University of East Anglia (UEA) on Saturday, filling the Nick Rayns LCR venue with the sounds of banging floor-fillers, 80s classics and indie hits – and all within the hours of 15:00 and 20:00 BST.

Day Fever gives the over-30s a chance to let their hair down and be back home at a reasonable time.

“It doesn’t matter what city we’re in, everybody’s looking forward to being out of the house and getting in at a good time so it doesn’t ruin the weekend – so already they’re set up for a win,” McClure said.

“When they get there, all of a sudden you are immersed in the music, which is a hugely powerful tool for everybody,” she added.

McClure has become a household name from her starring roles in This is England and Trigger Point but away from the “script land” she has drawn attention to the power of music – both with her dementia choir documentary and Day Fever.

“I like living in reality – I’m always happiest when I’m in the real world with real people who might be facing some tough times but they can always seem to find some joy,” she said.

“That’s what happens at the dementia choir and that’s what happens at Day Fever.”

The idea was the brainchild of Owen, who saw there was a gap in the market for people like him who wanted a good night out, but not late at night.

“Why not go out in the afternoon, create the atmosphere, some good music, and you’re home in time for Strictly [Come Dancing] or Match of the Day,” he said.

Owen discussed the idea with friends and the first event in Sheffield in December last year was a success.

It has since been held in major cities across the UK and Ireland, with the UEA event its first in the East of England.

Owen said he would be on the decks playing “loads of anthems” while McClure admitted she was out stage front as “the Bez of Day Fever”.

“No one ever leaves saying, ‘I wished they’d played that,’ we cater for everyone,” said Owen.

“Vicky has this great saying ‘music is medicine’, and it’s like the work she does with the dementia choir, it provides somewhere where people can really let their hair down, forget their troubles, and enjoy themselves for a few hours.

“I think that’s really important.”

McClure agreed, and said she was approached by people all the time who wanted to rave about Day Fever.

“We get a buzz out of that,” she said.

“We’ve had some really memorable pivotal moments, we have had wedding proposals, we’ve had people facing really tough times, like a woman in Dublin facing a brain tumour and she wanted to immerse herself and forget what she was going through for a bit.

“She came on stage and it was like this ginormous hug from everyone in the room.

“It is about feeling good.”

The couple said tickets had sold so well that they would be returning to Norwich for a Christmas Day Fever, known as Sleigh Fever, in December.