Tracy Shaw

Tracy Shaw (born 27 July 1973 in Belper, Derbyshire) is a British actress and singer.

She is best known for her role as hairdresser Maxine Peacock in British soap opera Coronation Street, a role which she played between May 1995 and January 2003.

Shaw was born into the hotel and pub trade, at the time when her parents ran the Talbot Hotel in Belper, Derbyshire. She attended St Benedict's School in Derbyshire, learnt classical dance at Hilda Davis School of Dance, Belper and went to the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester in 1990, where she got a degree in theatre studies.

Her best known work was as Maxine in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street. However, Shaw came into conflict with the show's bosses after they reportedly tried to cut her pay by £20,000 a year and she bowed out from her role as a result. Shaws's character met a tragic end in the episode screened on 13 January 2003, when she was murdered by Richard Hillman (played by Brian Capron).

She has also appeared in numerous ITV dramas. In 2003 Shaw appeared as Sally in the stage play The Blue Room, starring alongside Jason Connery.

Since the birth of her children Shaw has made the occasional return to acting and has performed in several national tours including Mum's the Word (2010) and Busy Body (2011), as well as lead roles in pantomimes in Worthing and Southsea.

She also had a short lived pop career in 1998, releasing two singles on the Love This Records record label, "Ridin' High" and a cover of Lonnie Gordon's top 10 hit, "Happenin' All Over Again".

In May 1996 she was presented with the Rear of the Year title. She had a series of high-profile romances including one with Alex Moscovich and also an engagement to Darren Day, which led to an array of media stories of cocaine use.

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