Vicky McClure reveals Happy Days’ The Fonz actor Henry Winkler is a massive fan of Line Of Duty

Vicky McClure and the Line Of Duty cast were left beside themselves when they discovered Happy Days legend Henry Winkler is a fan of the show.

The American star – who is best known for playing iconic Arthur ‘The Fonz’ Fonzarelli on the long-running sitcom – tweeted his love for the BBC cop drama last year, much to the excitement of the cast. 

Asked by Cosmopolitan UK who the most surprising celebrity Line Of Duty fan has been, the actress, 37, said: ‘We did have The Fonz, aka Henry Winkler, tweet us that he’s a fan of the show which was the biggest moment for us all.

‘He’s the biggest man on earth! It’s gone stateside! And who’s cooler than The Fonz? 

‘So that’s always stuck with me.’

Henry, now 75, took to Twitter at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last March to suggest what his fans should binge watch during lockdown.

Touting his own series Barry, he tweeted: BINGE WATCH – after Barry of course… LINE OF DUTY… and SPIRAL!’ 

Two months later, under an ad for Acorn TV promoting British crime series, he wrote: ‘Do not forget LINE OF DUTY!’ 

Henry’s sure to be tuning into the new series of Line Of Duty when it hits screens this Sunday for its sixth run.

Vicky went on to tell Cosmo that the cast have ‘loads’ of nickames for one another behind-the-scenes.

‘We have loads, but calling each other ’29’ has stuck since day one. Neil Morrissey [who played DC Nigel Morton] asked me what the time was, and I just said ’29’, and now it’s how we all refer to each other,’ she told the publication.

On whether they ever pull pranks on the set of the show, she went on:’Martin Compston [DS Steve Arnott] and I are always trying to make each other jump.

‘The annoying thing is he’s really good at it, and I’m crap!’

Vicky spoke about her career away from the immensely popular cop show. ‘I’d love to work with Julie Walters or Kathy Burke – they are pure talent for me and I get such a sense of truth when I watch them. They inspire me,’ she said.

Speaking about her breakout role in This Is England, she revealed the momentos she kept from filming.

‘I kept a brown Fred Perry shirt that [my character] Lol wore, and I kept the box that Combo [played by Stephen Graham] made from matchsticks in the film. I’ll never give that away,’ she said. 

She added: ‘Line of Duty made us all a coat with ‘AC-12′ and the badge on the arm, which is lovely to have.’

Line Of Duty returns to BBC One on Sunday night at 9PM.