- Maxine Peake
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Maxine Peake Born Maxine Peake
14 July 1974 [1]
Bolton, Greater Manchester,[2] EnglandOccupation Actress Years active 1996–present Website "Troika - Maxine Peake" Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974 in Bolton, Greater Manchester) is an English stage, film and television actress known for playing Veronica in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless, Twinkle in Victoria Wood's sitcom Dinnerladies,[3] and, most recently, barrister Martha Costello in BBC legal drama Silk.[4]
Contents
Early life
Peake is the second of two daughters born to Brian and Glynis Peake (née Hall).[5] Her father was a lorry driver before working in the electrical industry, her mother a part-time careworker; Lisa, her elder sister by nine years, is a policewoman.[5] Her parents separated when Peake was nine and she lived with her mother until the age of 15. When her mother moved in with a new boyfriend several miles away, she went to live with her grandfather so she could continue her GCSE studies at Westhoughton High School, before going on to take her A-Levels at Canon Slade School. It was through her grandfather, a member of the Communist Party that she was first encouraged to develop her creativity and embrace acting. It was also at this time that she began to be interested in politics, first joining the Young Communist League and later becoming a socialist.
Peake joined the Bolton Octagon Youth Theatre at 13, before a period at the youth theatre of the Royal Exchange, Manchester. She later attended the University of Salford for two years.
Peake's early attempts to enter the acting profession were dogged by misfortune. She was rejected by every theatre education company in north-west England,[6] and tried unsuccessfully for three years to get into Manchester Polytechnic Theatre School and London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama.[5] However, at 21, she headed for London after being awarded a place at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her attempts to find sponsorship for RADA were made the subject of a 1996 documentary by the South Bank Show; eventually, after being put forward by RADA, she was awarded the Patricia Rothermere Scholarship.[3][7]
Career
Peake has appeared in a number of television and stage productions including Channel 4's Shameless, Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies and Craig Cash's Early Doors as Janice. Between the two series of Dinnerladies, following career advice from Victoria Wood, Peake lost so much weight that an explanation had to be written into the script for her character, Twinkle. [3]
In 2006, Peake portrayed the Moors murderer Myra Hindley in See No Evil: The Moors Murders.[8] See No Evil was broadcast in May 2006, and met with mixed reactions; soon after this Peake announced that she was quitting Shameless.
Also in 2006, Peake appeared in On the Third Day the resultant play in Channel 4's The Play's the Thing televised competition.[9]
In 2007, she played Tracey Temple in the TV drama Confessions of a Diary Secretary, which told the story of John Prescott's affair with his secretary. On 17 January 2008, she was the Cinderella character in the BBC's Fairy Tales series. On 26 March 2008, she starred in Hancock and Joan, a drama in BBC Four's Curse of Comedy series. She played Joan Le Mesurier, wife of actor John Le Mesurier, who had an affair with comedian Tony Hancock shortly after she and Le Mesurier were married. Also in 2008, she played Miss Wade in the BBC adaptation of Little Dorrit and Elizabeth Lilburne in The Devil's Whore.
January 2009 saw Peake appear in her first major feature film role, as Angela in the film Clubbed, as well as in the Channel 4 trilogy Red Riding.
Peake took the lead role of barrister Martha Costello in the BBC's legal drama, Silk, in February 2011.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes 1996 Hetty Wainthrop Investigates Photocopy Assistant TV series (1 episode: "Fingers") 1998 Girls' Night Sharon Picking Up the Pieces Lucy TV series (1 episode: "Episode #1.7") Dinnerladies Twinkle TV series (16 episodes: 1998-2000) 1999 Sunburn Sue TV series (1 episode: "Episode #1.5") Coronation Street Belinda Peach TV series (1 episode: "Episode #1.46352") Jonathan Creek Marion Cretiss TV series (1 episode: "The Curious Tale of Mr. Spearfish") 2000 Clocking Off Marie Leach TV series (1 episode: "The Leaches' Story") 2001 The Way We Live Now Ruby Ruggles TV mini-series (4 episodes) Linda Green Receptionist TV series (1 episode: "Fitness Freak") 2002 All or Nothing Party Girl Hamilton Mattress Lulu (voice) short Holby City Tanya Wilton TV series (1 episode: "Pawns in the Game: Part 1") Dalziel and Pascoe Dr. Allison Laurie TV series (1 episode: "Mens Sana") 2003 At Home with the Braithwaites Trixie Fletcher TV series (1 episode: "Episode #4.3") Early Doors Janice TV series (4 episodes) 2004 Christmas Lights Pauline TV movie Shameless Veronica Fisher TV series (27 episodes: 2004-2007) 2005 Be Mine Tina's Mum short Faith Linda TV movie Frozen Ticket Attendant Stealing Up Daughter short Messiah: The Harrowing DS Vickie Clarke TV mini-series 2006 See No Evil: The Moors Murders Myra Hindley TV movie The Madness of the Dance The Professor short 2007 Confessions of a Diary Secretary Tracey Temple TV movie I Am Bob Marilyn Monroe short Would Like to Meet Heather short 2008 Bike Squad WPC Kate McFay TV movie Fairytales Cindy Mellor TV series (1 episode: "Cinderella") Hancock & Joan Joan Le Mesurier TV movie
Nominated—BAFTA TV Award for Best ActressPlacebo Dr. Sian Nuttall TV movie Clubbed Angela The Devil's Whore Elizabeth Liliburne TV mini-series (4 episodes) Little Dorrit Miss Wade TV mini-series (7 episodes) 2009 Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980 Helen Marshall TV movie Marple: They Do It with Mirrors Jolly Bellever TV movie The Street Madeleine Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress Criminal Justice Juliet Miller TV series (5 episodes) 2010 The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister Anne Lister TV movie Alice short Edge Elly 2011 Silk Martha Costello TV series (6 episodes) Room at the Top Alice Aisgill completed Best Laid Plans post-production Theatre
- Early One Morning, Lizzie
- Breakthrough, Various
- Miss Julie, Kristin
- The John Ford Investigation, Various
- The Importance of Being Earnest, Gwendoline
- The Cherry Orchard, Dunyasha
- The Relapse, Miss Hoyden
- Luther, Katherine
- Mother Theresa is Dead, Jane
- Hamlet, Ophelia
- Serjeant Musgrave's Dance, Annie
- Robin Hood, Maid Marion
- The Permanent Way, Various
- Rutherford & Sons, Janet
- The Third Day, Claire
- Leaves of Glass, Debbie
- The Children's Hour, Karen
- The Deep Blue Sea, Hester
Radio drama
References
- ^ "My Secret Life: Maxine Peake, actress, 33". The Independent. 8 March 2008. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/my-secret-life-maxine-peake-actress33-791121.html.
- ^ General Register Office - Births Index - Year: 1974. Quarter: Jul/Aug/Sep. Child's Name: Peake, Maxine. Mother's Maiden surname: Hall. District: Bolton. Volume: 38. Page: 0323.
- ^ a b c "Maxine Peake: The misfit". The Guardian. 15 May 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/may/15/maxine-peake-interview.
- ^ "BBC One Programmes - Silk - Martha Costello - actor Maxine Peake". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/features/silk/aps/martha_costello.shtml.
- ^ a b c "Maxine Peake: From rugby league to starring actress". Daily Mail. 9 November 2007. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-492708/Maxine-Peake-From-rugby-league-starring-actress.html.
- ^ "Justice at last for Maxine Peake". The Guardian. 3 October 2009. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2009/oct/03/maxine-peake-criminal-justice.
- ^ "Maxine Peake: Onward and upward". The Independent. 22 June 2006. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/maxine-peake-onward-and-upward-405028.html.
- ^ "Return to the Moors" Manchester Evening News, 4 May 2006
- ^ "The Play's the Thing" Channel 4
- ^ "Guilty Until Proved Innocent". BBC Radio 4. 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p87r4.
- ^ "This Repulsive Woman". BBC Radio 4. 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hx63q.
External links
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/13/bbc1-silk-maxine-peake
Categories:- 1974 births
- Living people
- Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
- Alumni of the University of Salford
- English film actors
- English radio actors
- English stage actors
- English television actors
- People from Westhoughton
- Shakespearean actors
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