Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English stage, film and television actress known for playing Twinkle in Victoria Wood’s sitcom dinnerladies, Veronica in Channel 4’s Manchester-based drama series Shameless, barrister Martha Costello QC in BBC legal drama Silk and, most recently, Grace Middleton in The Village. She is also an accomplished stage actress, and co-starred in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything.