BAD company

Maxine Peake is a successful businesswoman with sinister secrets in BBC1’s dark new thriller

- ELAINE REILLY, IAN MACEWAN

A quick glance at Maxine Peake’s CV reveals why she’s one of the UK’s most sought-after actors – from roles in comedy Early Doors to Hillsborough drama Anne, she’s proved herself to be versatile.

In BBC1’s new four-part thriller Rules of the Game, Peake portrays blunt businesswoman Sam, a chief operating officer at sportswear company Fly, which is about to go public on the stock exchange.

However, Sam’s world is threatened by the arrival of aspirational new HR manager Maya (EastEnders and Sex Education star Rakhee Thakrar), who uncovers a disturbingly toxic working environment.

As Maya digs into the tragic death of young employee Amy Dixon 10 years earlier, owners Owen and Gareth Jenkins, their mother, Anita (Alison Steadman), and Sam are all keen to keep company secrets filed away.