Tracy Shaw
Encyclopedia
Tracy Shaw is a British
actress and singer
.
She is best known for her role as hairdresser Maxine Peacock (formerly Maxine Heavey) in British soap opera
Coronation Street
during the 1990s and early 2000s.
, Derbyshire
. She attended St. Benedict's School in Derbyshire
, and went to the Arden School of Theatre
in Manchester
in 1990, where she got a degree in theatre studies.
Her best known work at present is hairdresser Maxine Peacock in the long-running, popular British soap opera
Coronation Street
which is set and filmed in Manchester
. However,Shaw came into conflict with the show's bosses after they tried to cut her pay by 20,000 pounds a year and she bowed out from her famous role as a result. Shaws's character met a tragic and unfortunate end in the episode screened on 13 January 2003, when she was murder
ed 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
.
She also had a short lived pop
career in 1998, releasing two singles
on the Love This Records label
, "Ridin' High" and a cover of Lonnie Gordon
's top 10 hit, "Happenin' All Over Again
".
, title. She had a series of high-profile romances, including engagement to Darren Day
, which led to an array of media stories of cocaine
addiction which were ultimately proven to be false though Shaw admitted to having had used the drug.
She married Robert Ashworth in June 2001, but a series of early problems occurred including a row on a return flight from the Caribbean
having been filming ITV1
's Wish You Were Here...?
. In 2003, her father Karl Shaw was featured in an article in the News of the World
, and said that Shaw survived on "three bottles of wine and a packet of crisps a day". He also said that if "she carries on this way it will kill her". She made moves to turn her life around including spending two months in rehab in the United States
and leaving her husband. Before this she had set up an eating disorder charity called 'The Tracy Shaw Foundation' which helps teenagers combat eating disorders, as she had struggled with anorexia
during the 1990s, and at one stage her weight plunged below six stone.
Her marriage ended in divorce
in 2004, and Shaw set up home with and subsequently became engaged to childhood friend and businessman Ashley Poundall, the son of her mother Anne's boyfriend of eight years, Colin. The couple currently live in Caversham
, Berkshire
and have two sons Louis (born March 2005), and Luca (born September 2006). Shaw plans to return to stage or screen when the children are a little older. Tracy's maternal grandfather Edward Duffy hailed from Coatbridge
in Scotland
and she still has a number of family members living in the area.
co-stars Jacqueline Pirie
and Jennifer James
, and hung around the grounds of Granada Studios in Manchester, put his arms around Miss Shaw, and asked for a kiss. Sedgwick pleaded guilty later that year to multiple acts of gross indecency with children and had suffered from hearing voices in his head.
#46
1999: "Ridin' High"
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actress and singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
.
She is best known for her role as hairdresser Maxine Peacock (formerly Maxine Heavey) in British soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Career
Shaw was born into the hotel and pub trade, at the time when her parents ran the Talbot Hotel in BelperBelper
Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.-Geography:Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River Derwent...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. She attended St. Benedict's School in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, and went to the Arden School of Theatre
Arden School of Theatre
The Arden School of Theatre, also known as The Arden,was an independent drama school located in Manchester, England; it is now affiliated as part of the Creative Performance Department of The Manchester College....
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1990, where she got a degree in theatre studies.
Her best known work at present is hairdresser Maxine Peacock in the long-running, popular British soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
which is set and filmed in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. However,Shaw came into conflict with the show's bosses after they tried to cut her pay by 20,000 pounds a year and she bowed out from her famous role as a result. Shaws's character met a tragic and unfortunate end in the episode screened on 13 January 2003, when she was murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed by Richard Hillman
Richard Hillman
Richard Charles Hillman was a fictional character in the British television soap opera Coronation Street, played by Brian Capron. Hillman is now rated as one of the best soap villains of all time.-Development:...
(played by Brian Capron
Brian Capron
Brian Capron, born 11 February 1947 at Eye in Suffolk, is a British actor, who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . His father was an Algerian pilot, of French descent, who died in a plane crash before Brian was born....
).
She has also appeared in numerous ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
dramas. In 2003 Shaw appeared as Sally in the stage play The Blue Room, starring alongside Jason Connery
Jason Connery
Jason Joseph Connery is an English actor.-Early life:Connery grew up in London. He attended Millfield School, a co-educational independent school in Somerset, England, and later at the independent Gordonstoun School in Scotland. He was later accepted into the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School...
.
She also had a short lived pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
career in 1998, releasing two singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on the Love This Records label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, "Ridin' High" and a cover of Lonnie Gordon
Lonnie Gordon
Lonnie Gordon is a female Hi-NRG, house and soul singer-songwriter from New York's Bronx, who has scored many chart hits during the 1990s and 2000s.-Early life and career:...
's top 10 hit, "Happenin' All Over Again
Happenin' All Over Again
"Happenin' All over Again" is a song written and produced by Stock Aitken & Waterman for Lonnie Gordon's first album If I Have to Stand Alone . It was released as the album's second single in January 1990 and reached #4 on the main UK singles chart...
".
Personal life
In May 1996 she was presented with the Rear of the YearRear of the Year
Rear of the Year is a light-hearted British award for celebrities who are considered to have a notable posterior. It was created by publicity consultant Anthony Edwards and is organised by Rear of the Year Limited.-History:...
, title. She had a series of high-profile romances, including engagement to Darren Day
Darren Day
Darren Day , is an English actor, singer and television presenter, well known for his West End theatre starring roles.-Early life:His paternal grandfather was a support and warm-up act for George Formby...
, which led to an array of media stories of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
addiction which were ultimately proven to be false though Shaw admitted to having had used the drug.
She married Robert Ashworth in June 2001, but a series of early problems occurred including a row on a return flight from the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
having been filming ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's Wish You Were Here...?
Wish You Were Here...?
Wish You Were Here...? is a British television show that was first broadcast on 7th January 1974 on ITV. It was a series of 30 minute shows about travel and holidays. The show was broadcast during peak viewing hours and had gained a significant viewing audience in the UK...
. In 2003, her father Karl Shaw was featured in an article in the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, and said that Shaw survived on "three bottles of wine and a packet of crisps a day". He also said that if "she carries on this way it will kill her". She made moves to turn her life around including spending two months in rehab in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and leaving her husband. Before this she had set up an eating disorder charity called 'The Tracy Shaw Foundation' which helps teenagers combat eating disorders, as she had struggled with anorexia
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
during the 1990s, and at one stage her weight plunged below six stone.
Her marriage ended in divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
in 2004, and Shaw set up home with and subsequently became engaged to childhood friend and businessman Ashley Poundall, the son of her mother Anne's boyfriend of eight years, Colin. The couple currently live in Caversham
Caversham, Berkshire
Caversham is a suburb and former village in the unitary authority of Reading, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, within the royal county of Berkshire, on the opposite bank from the rest of Reading...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
and have two sons Louis (born March 2005), and Luca (born September 2006). Shaw plans to return to stage or screen when the children are a little older. Tracy's maternal grandfather Edward Duffy hailed from Coatbridge
Coatbridge
Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie, is part of the Greater Glasgow urban area. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age era...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and she still has a number of family members living in the area.
Stalker
In 2000, alleged stalker Kevin Sedgwick pleaded guilty to harassing Shaw over a period of five years. He had written a number of letters to her, as well as Coronation StreetCoronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
co-stars Jacqueline Pirie
Jacqueline Pirie
Jacqueline Pirie is a Scottish actress best known for appearing in ITV's popular soap operas Emmerdale, as Tina Dingle from 1994–1996....
and Jennifer James
Jennifer James
Jennifer James, is an English actress born on 3 December 1977 in Billinge Higher End, Wigan, Greater Manchester.-Early life:...
, and hung around the grounds of Granada Studios in Manchester, put his arms around Miss Shaw, and asked for a kiss. Sedgwick pleaded guilty later that year to multiple acts of gross indecency with children and had suffered from hearing voices in his head.
Discography
1998: "Happenin' All Over Again" - UKUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#46
1999: "Ridin' High"