Maxine Peake

Penny's love for her partner, taxi-driver Phil, has run dry. He is a gentle, philosophical guy, and she works on the checkout at a supermarket. Their daughter Rachel cleans in a home for elderly people, and their son Rory is unemployed and aggressive. The joy has gone out of Phil's and Penny's life, but when an unexpected tragedy occurs, they are brought together to rediscover their love... (imdb)

An underworld drama set in the early 1980s, about a lonely factory worker whose life is transformed when he becomes a nightclub doorman. (imdb)

Police corruption interferes with the search for a killer in Yorkshire, England.

A vivid drama that documents the notorious "Moors murderers", Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. (imdb)

Set between the years 1642 and 1660, "The Devil's Whore" charts the progress of the English Civil War through the eyes of the a 17 year old girl, the fictional Angelica Fanshawe. (imdb)

This drama features Ken Stott as British comedy legend Tony Hancock, and charts the last two years of his life. Maxine Peake appears as Joan, wife of Hancock's best friend, fellow performer John Le Mesurier, who had an affair with Hancock and attempted to rid him of the destructive alcoholism that was to ultimately prove his downfall. (imdb)

On his way to a Make Poverty History gig in Scotland, Bob Geldof is accidentally stranded by an incompetent chauffeur in a run-down motel in Northern England. To his horror, he discovers a lookalike contest is taking place, and no-one will believe he is the real Bob Geldof. Just when he thinks things can't get any worse, he discovers he may not be the only Bob Geldof in the room... (imdb)

David Blair directs this powerful British Drama, loosely inspired by John Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men'. Set in Nottingham, the film revolves around the relationship between the thuggish Danny (Stephen Graham) and Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a giant of a man with a mental age of seven. (imdb)

After a stroke leaves her husband mentally disabled and fundamentally changed, spirited Irish housewife Vanetia struggles to keep her family together in the wake of tragedy. A research grant from American doctor Ted Fielding, interested in documenting the family's recovery process, allows them to get by. (tribecafilm.com)

Svengali tells the story of Dixie (Jonny Owen), a postman from South Wales, and a music fanatic. All his life he's dreamed of discovering a great band and then one day, trawling through YouTube, he finds them... 'The Premature Congratulations'. He hunts them down and offers them his management services. They are young, arrogant, sexy and utterly magnificent. Putting their demo on a cassette tape, Dixie heads out onto the streets of London... (svengalimovie.com)

A mini-series of adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays: Richard II, Henry IV Parts One and Two, and Henry V. (imdb)

A look at the relationship between the famous physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife. (imdb)

It's 1969 at an English girls school full of seething hormones and turbulent emotions; Lydia and Abbie are best friends, existing largely in a universe of two. Abbie is the undisputed leader, with natural charisma and magnetism, and Lydia is fixated on her friend, having long been emotionally abandoned by her single mum. Lydia's fragile world starts to unravel when her brother and Abbie sleep together, and a tragedy and ensuing mysterious delirium overtake the school. (letterboxd.com)

The strong, poignant production depicts intense family drama and the power of grief. Maxine Peake's fierce and textured Hamlet imbues the role with anger, indignation and purpose. Filmed with eight cameras by an expert team, the film captures the intensity of the stage production with all the polish and care of a feature film. (hamletthefilm.com)

The show centres on pub landlord Ken, especially his preoccupation with his daughter Melanie, and his nervous relationship with barmaid Tanya. Ken's wife left him for his best friend. The series reflects more than a little of the Northern humour displayed in The Royle Family. In a similar style to The Royle Family, every scene unfolds within the spatial context of The Grapes and it is also set in the Greater Manchester area. (imdb)

Comedy about the workers in a factory canteen. (imdb)

The story of a young group of siblings pretty much abandoned by their parents, surviving by their wits - and humor - on a rough Manchester council estate. Whilst they won't admit it, they need help and find it in Steve, a young middle class lad who falls for Fiona, the oldest sibling, and increasingly finds himself drawn to this unconventional and unique family. (imdb)

A cinematic snapshot observing the morning routine of a family in 1940s Britain. Mum makes breakfast. Dad reads the paper. Samantha tries to get ready for work but her sister, Rachael, is hogging the bathroom. Soon we see that Rachael is very young, but not as innocent as her parents might hope. (imdb)

Set in the fields of Devon and the WW1 battlefields of Flanders, two brothers fall for the same girl while contending with the pressures of their feudal family life, the war, and the price of courage and cowardice.

The twentieth century as seen through the eyes of the residents of a small English village.

A modern re-telling of the classic fantasy drama by William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream holds a star-studded cast with euphoric effects and melodramatic storytelling. (imdb)

All Charlotte wants from life is to be cut a slice of the media agency she has devoted herself to building. When Charlotte's life disintegrates, we follow her on a heart-racing journey of self-discovery, atonement and danger.

Drama series about life at the Bar, the dilemmas and problems that modern day barristers have to face, and what it means to become a silk. (imdb)

Based on a true story, a drama based on the experiences of three of the vulnerable young girls who were groomed, sexually abused and trafficked by British Pakistani men in Rochdale and of the failure of the authorities to do anything about it. (imdb)

The rise to stardom of a female comedienne through the 1970's and 1980's, set against the backdrop of working men's clubs and the stand-up comedy circuit of the North of England.

The story of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre where British forces attacked a peaceful pro-democracy rally in Manchester. (imdb)

In the stark beauty of 19th Century Snowdonia a young girl tries desperately to hold her home together. Struggling with her mother's mysterious illness, her father's absence and a ruthless mining company encroaching on their land. A growing darkness begins to take grip of her home, and the suspicious local community turns on Gwen and her family. (imdb)

Series 1 follows Ben Coulter who is accused of committing a crime that he has no recollection of after a drunken and drug-filled night out. Series 2 follows Juliet through the criminal justice system after she stabs her abusive husband. (imdb)

Dramedy series examining the life of a woman who breaks off with her long term girlfriend and tries having a straight relationship for a change.

A look at the life of 19th century Yorkshire landowner Anne Lister (1791-1840), who lived openly as a lesbian and kept diaries chronicling the details of her daily life. (imdb)

Set on an isolated farm in Shropshire in 1657. The story of Fanny Lye, a woman who learns to transcend her oppressive marriage and discover a new world of possibility - albeit at great personal cost. Living a life of Puritan stricture with husband John and young son Arthur, Fanny Lye's world is shaken to its core by the unexpected arrival of two strangers in need, a young couple closely pursued by a ruthless sheriff and his deputy.

Devastated by the loss of her fifteen year old son, Kevin, at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, Anne Williams fights for the truth about the tragedy. Standing along side other parents who lost children in the match and refusing to believe the official investigation results, Anne seeks her own evidence in a relentless quest for justice.

Two women sit in a barren dystopian wasteland discussing the best way to die

When new HR Director Maya begins her job at Fly, she tries to shake up the old fashioned lads culture and begins investigating historic cases of misconduct. (imdb)

Two British best friends, Dawn and Jackie, take a trip to Las Vegas when Dawn is diagnosed with cancer.

A working-class photographer captures the impact of Thatcherism on the north of England but is unable to escape the poverty and inequality she exposed.

Red Metcalfe's analytical skills are stretched to the limit as he tries to fathom the workings of the mind of a killer determined to create their own Hell. (imdb)