My role as Britain's most hated woman

Actress on becoming Maxine Carr... & then finding herself again

- NICOLA METHVEN

THE actress playing Maxine Carr in a drama about the Soham murders says Beyonce's music helped her shrug off the criminal's persona after tough days of filming.

Newcomer Jemma Carlton plays Carr in Channel 5's Maxine, opposite Scott Reid as killer Ian Huntley.

She said: "When we finished filming, I was so tired from carrying the weight of Maxine as a character. When me and Scott are in these characters, it's a really difficult and dark thing.

"So by the end of the day, when we were out of them, we would always listen to some music. I have a playlist when I am in role, and one when I am out.

"It helps with the 'de-robing' of her. I am such a big Beyonce fan. It is such a different mood, and it helps massively."