Channel 5’s new series Maxine follows the tragic and true story of the Soham Murders from the perspective of Maxine Carr, who used to be anorexic.
Maxine Carr’s fiancé, Ian Huntley, was responsible for the murder of two school girls Holly and Jessica.
She then infamously lied to the police to provide Ian with an alibi.
When the police found out the truth, Maxine was sentenced to prison for three and a half years.
But is it true that she was anorexic and why did she compare herself to Princess Diana?
*Warning spoilers ahead for episode 1 of Maxine on Channel 5*
Was Maxine Carr anorexic?
Maxine Carr was the classroom assistant who was charged for perverting the course of justice after the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
In the C5 series Maxine, viewers see the teaching assistant being sent to an all women’s prison, Holloway, where she started to develop an eating disorder.
But did this happen in real life?
Yes, Maxine actually had a long history with anorexia.
Maxine had battled with the eating disorder ever since she was a teenager.
Her weight dropped to six stone when she was young, and her condition became so severe that she even had to be hospitalised.
Maxine did eventually regain weight as an adult and her condition improved.
However, people who knew her said she was always extremely careful about what she ate, and her diet consisted of mainly fruit and salad.
Anorexic Maxine became ill in prison
Shortly after she was sentenced to a prison sentence, Maxine began suffering from the eating disorder again.
Maxine’s weight plummeted in the weeks after her arrest as she continued to eat hardly anything.
For several court appearances, she also wore baggy clothes to disguise her frail figure.
In October 2002, Maxine was then taken to hospital after collapsing due to her eating disorder.
When she returned to prison, the Prison Service said: “We can confirm a prisoner from Holloway was taken to an outside hospital for medical treatment.
“We cannot discuss individual prisoners or their confidential medical details.”
Why did Maxine Carr compare herself to Princess Diana in the series?
In the series Maxine, we see Maxine Carr avoiding her food and forcing herself to throw up in her toilet.
Eventually she faints in her prison cell, which leads everyone to believe that it was a failed suicide attempt.
Later, when Maxine meets with her lawyer, she says: “The papers are calling it a suicide attempt, ‘she’s guilty and she can’t live with it’.
“It’s my eating disorder, I can’t help it.”
Her lawyer then reluctantly responds: “Well, yes… There should be some… uh sympathy.”
Maxine then went on to compare herself to the late Princess Diana, who also had an eating disorder.
She claimed: “I’m like Princess Diana…”
But why?
Although it’s not been confirmed if she said this in real life, it suggests in the Channel 5 series that she said it because she was seeking sympathy.
Instead of feeling guilty for her actions, Maxine felt like the victim and wanted people to feel sorry for her.
Princess Diana was known to have suffered from an eating disorder while she was alive.
Read more: C5’s Maxine: Uproar over drama about Ian Huntley, Maxine Carr and the Soham Murders
Maxine starts on Channel 5 on Monday 10 October 2022 at 9pm.
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