Corrie favourite unrecognisable two decades after being killed off cobbles | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV
Former Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw, who played the iconic character Maxine Peacock from 1995 to 2003, is now living a peaceful life with her two sons and beloved dogs. However, she has recently been making a return to acting.
The 51 year old actress’s role as the pretty, curly blonde-haired Maxine remains her most notable professional role to date, featuring significant storylines and romances with characters such as Curly Watts, Des Barnes, Andy McDonald and Tony Horrocks.
Her character met a tragic end when she was murdered by serial killer Richard Hillman, who had intended to kill Emily Bishop and broke into Ashley and Maxine’s house while Emily was babysitting Joshua.
Richard had planned to stage the elderly woman’s death as a burglary gone wrong, but his plan was foiled when Maxine unexpectedly returned home early. She witnessed Richard bludgeoning Emily with a crowbar and attempted to flee upstairs, only for Richard to murder her in the same brutal manner.
During her stint on Corrie, the actress was a popular figure in lad’s magazines and even clinched the title of ‘Rear of the Year’ in 1996. She also embarked on a short-lived pop career in 1998, releasing two singles – ‘Ridin’ High’ and a cover of Lonnie Gordon’s ‘Happenin’ All Over Again’.
Following her departure from Corrie, Tracy took to the stage, starring alongside Jason Connery, son of cinema icon Sean Connery, in the play ‘The Blue Room’, reports the Mirror.
In her personal life, Tracy has been linked to several high-profile figures, including actor and singer Darren Day. She was previously married to TV producer Robert Ashworth, but they divorced in 2001.
She later found love with childhood friend Ashley Poundall, with whom she shares two teenage sons, Louis and Luca.
Speaking on Loose Women in 2019, Tracy revealed that since leaving her high-profile role on the ITV soap, she has taken numerous breaks from the limelight to spend time with her children.
She explained: “It was a huge pressure just because of the viewing figures [of Coronation street]. When I had Louie, I used to take him out for a walk with Angela [Griffin] with the push chairs and it just didn’t feel right to have photographers take pictures of the boys and they haven’t got a choice in this.”
Nowadays, Tracy is quite active on social media, where she labels herself as “single” and a “survivor”. Her posts are mostly about her outings with her two German Shepherds.
In 2021, she took to Instagram to share a selfie from backstage during her theatre adaptation of the 1939 classic, ‘The Cat and the Canary’, where she starred as Annabelle. More recently, she has been teasing fans with pictures from a recording studio at Molinare, a post-production company, although she’s kept mum about her latest project.
Still, she dropped hints by tagging the photo with “#film” and “#directorArabella”.