I've been called, my boss wrote me a letter saying the business couldn't do without me and I got a deferral to a later date.

The later date was during my honeymoon, when I told the court that they said don't worry about it, might call you later, might not.

My husband got called a few years later and did go. There was like 24 people sat around waiting most of the time and they picked 12 of them randomly for each case as it happened that day.

You get expenses covered, you get a small fee for food and such, and yes it is a requirement that you attend if summoned by a court for jury duty, unless you give them a good reason why you can't.

The fee doesn't depend on what case it is, the crime or the profile of the case. It's civic duty to our society, not a platform to launch into fame 😁

Bear in mind that if you don't do it, the cases will be decided by people who do.

https://www.gov.uk/jury-service

You can also be called if you have been a UK resident for 5+ years, even if not a citizen (in Scotland at least).