Maxine Peake
Biography
Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English stage, radio, film and television actress, playwright, producer, director and political activist, who made her name as Twinkle in Victoria Wood's sitcom Dinnerladies. She has since played Veronica in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless, barrister Martha Costello in the BBC legal drama Silk and Grace Middleton in The Village. She is also an accomplished stage actress, having played the title role in Hamlet, and had a role in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything. In 2018 she played the lead in the film Funny Cow and had a starring role in Mike Leigh's epic Peterloo, a film very close to her heart.
Known For
The Graham Norton Show
2007
The One Show
2006
Black Mirror
2011
The South Bank Show
1978
Shameless
2004
Last Seen
2026
Dalziel and Pascoe
1996
Inside No. 9
2014
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
2007
Star Wars: Visions
2021
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
2018
Jonathan Creek
1997
Filmography
The Graham Norton Show
as Self · 2007
The One Show
as Self - Guest · 2006
Black Mirror
as Bella · 2011
The South Bank Show
· 1978
Shameless
as Veronica Fisher · 2004
Last Seen
as Jenna Reid · 2026
Dalziel and Pascoe
as Dr Allison Laurie · 1996
Inside No. 9
as Nadia · 2014
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
as Self · 2007
Star Wars: Visions
as Kalina Kalfus (voice) · 2021
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
as Self - Guest · 2018
Jonathan Creek
as Marion Cretiss · 1997
Silk
as Martha Costello QC · 2011
I Swear
as Dottie · 2025
Timeshift
as Self - Narrator · 2002
ChuckleVision
· 1987
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
as Photocopy Assistant · 1996
Say Nothing
as Older Dolours Price · 2024
The Hollow Crown
as Doll Tearsheet · 2012
Bait
as Helen · 2026
Art That Made Us
as Self - Actrice (Rules of the Game, Anne) · 2022
The Theory of Everything
as Elaine Mason · 2014
The Village
as Grace Middleton · 2013
Mandy
as Susan Blower · 2020
At Home with the Braithwaites
as Trixie Fletcher · 2000
The Street
· 2006
Fairy Tales
as Cindy Mellor · 2008
dinnerladies
as Twinkle · 1998
Clocking Off
as Marie Leach · 2000
Little Dorrit
as Miss Wade · 2008
Criminal Justice
as Juliet Miller · 2008
Comedy Connections
· 2003
Messiah
as DS Vickie Clarke · 2001
Red Riding
· 2009
Sunburn
as Sue · 1999
The Devil's Whore
as Elizabeth Lilburne · 2008
Three Girls
as Sara Rowbotham · 2017
Wendell & Wild
as Irmgard Klaxon (voice) · 2022
Early Doors
as Janice · 2003
Words of War
as Anna Politkovskaya · 2025
The Bisexual
as Sadie · 2018
Anne
as Anne Williams · 2022
Alan Bennett's Talking Heads
as Miss Fozzard · 2020
Linda Green
as Receptionist · 2001
We Have Been Watching
as Self · 2017
Room at the Top
as Alice Aisgill · 2012
All or Nothing
as Party girl · 2002
Artsnight
as Self - Presenter · 2015
Dinnerladies Diaries
as Self · 2018
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
as Self · 2007
Rules of the Game
as Sam Thompson · 2022
Dance First
as Barbara · 2023
The Falling
as Eileen Lamont · 2015
Fanny Lye Deliver'd
as Fanny Lye · 2019
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980
as Helen Marshall · 2009
Laundreams
· 2025
Peterloo
as Nellie · 2018
Private Peaceful
as Hazel Peaceful · 2012
Girls' Night
as Sharon · 1998
Run & Jump
as Vanetia · 2014
Red Top
as Rebekah Brooks · 2016
Funny Cow
as Funny Cow · 2018
First Day on Earth
as Helen
Keeping Up with the Joneses
as Celia · 2013
The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister
as Anne Lister · 2010
Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough
as Narrator · 2025
Secret Life of the Safari Park
as Narrator · 2024
Crackula
· 2026
Frozen
as Ticket Attendant · 2005
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
as Self · 2000
DeafBlind
as Maggie · 2011
A Midsummer Night's Dream
as Titania · 2016
Choked Up
as Fiona Lacey · 2023
Strange Weather
as Jane · 2015
Clubbed
as Angela · 2008
Faith
as Linda · 2005
Be Still My Beating Heart
· 2019
Becoming Victoria Wood
as Self · 2026
I Wish For You
as Grown Up Mia · 2016
Best Laid Plans
as Isabel · 2012
The Haunted Season
as The Englishwoman (voice) · 2024
Keeping Rosy
as Charlotte · 2014
Svengali
as Angie · 2013
Hamilton Mattress
as Lulu (voice) · 2002
Tish
as Tish Murtha (voice) · 2023
Wonders of the Moon
as Narrator (voice) · 2018
Christmas Lights
as Pauline · 2004
Generation '66
as Narrator · 2016
Imaginary Friend
as Pauline · 2010
Unseen
as Emma · 2017
Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle
as Narrator · 2017
Woken
as Helen · 2024
The Occupant of the Room
as The Englishwoman (voice) · 2025
The Shuttleworths
as Helen Bach · 2015
Bunch of Kunst - A Film About Sleaford Mods
as Self (archive footage) · 2017
Would Like To Meet
as George's Mum · 2007
Surfaces
as Alix · 2020
Cake
· 2017
The Bright Side Running Club
Men Who Sleep in Cars
as Sarah · 2017
Confessions of a Diary Secretary
as Tracey Temple · 2007
Hancock & Joan
as Joan Le Mesurier · 2008
Hamlet
as Hamlet · 2015
Gwen
as Elen · 2018
Quiet on Set: The Class Division in the Film Industry?
as Self · 2025
Where We Used to Meet
· 2021
The Real Anne: Unfinished Business
as Self- Presenter · 2022
The Heart Fails Without Warning
as Mother · 2013
Ceremony: The Return of Friedrich Engels
as Friedrich Engels (voice) · 2018
The Great Mountain Sheep Gather
as Self - Narrator · 2020
The Madness of the Dance
· 2006
Inner Polar Bear
as Narrator (voice) · 2022
Bike Squad
as WPC Kate McFay · 2008
The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca
as Self · 2018
I Am Bob
as Marilyn Monroe Lookalike/Compere's Assistant · 2007
Edge
as Elly · 2010
The Fear of Trilogy
· 2006
Art Matters
as Self · 2024
The Priest
· 2017
Something Out of Nothing
· 2022
It's Me
as Miriam · 2020
Lapushka!
as Scoot Piccolo · 2022
Judy
as Judy · 2019
The Unheard
Obsession: The Beryl Burton Story
as Self
See No Evil: The Moors Murders
as Myra Hindley · 2006