Maxine Peake has been a familiar sight for many British drama lovers recently having starred in two major TV series within the same month: ITV's heartwrenching series Anne and the BBC's latest thriller Rules of the Game.
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In recent years, Maxine has been known for her roles in hard-hitting dramas such as Three Girls and Black Mirror, but the actress has starred in a wide range of films, TV shows and theatre productions over the years. Take a look back at some of her earlier roles...
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Back in 1998, Maxine appeared in Victoria Wood's BBC sitcom Dinnerladies, playing youngest worker in the canteen, Twinkle.
A star-studded beginning to her career, Maxine played the role alongside Victoria Wood herself, as well as Anne Reid, Celia Imrie and Julie Walters.
In an interview on The Graham Norton Show in 2016, Maxine revealed that it was Victoria Wood who encouraged her to get fit. She subsequently lost four stone after the first series of Dinnerladies and had to wear a fat suit for a storyline in the second.
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After the sitcom finished in 2000, Maxine went on to star in various films and TV shows, including Channel 4 series Shameless, which won Best Drama at the 2005 BAFTA TV awards.
© Photo: Getty ImagesMaxine starred alongside Victoria Wood in sitcom Dinnerladies from 1998-2000
Viewers will also remember Maxine starring as barrister Martha Costello in the BBC's legal drama Silk, as well as playing Grace Middleton in the BBC's period drama The Village, alongside John Simm.
More recently, Maxine has starred in various drama series including Three Girls, a powerful dramatisation of the events surrounding the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, which won Best Mini-Series at the BAFTA TV awards. She's also appeared in episodes of Inside No.9, Talking Heads and Mandy.
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In the past few weeks, Maxine Peake has received high praise from viewers and critics alike following her role in the ITV series Anne, which tells the story of Anne Williams' fight for justice following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. The creator of the series said Maxine "gave the performance of a lifetime" in the hard-hitting drama.
© Photo: Getty ImagesMaxine performing in the theatre in 2012
Maxine is currently starring in the BBC's workplace thriller Rules of the Game, which is partly inspired by the Harvey Weinstein scandal and #MeToo movement.
Rules of the Game continues on Tuesday 18 January at 9pm, with the whole series available to stream on BBC iPlayer
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