Jemma Carlton and Scott Reid playing Maxine and Ian in Maxine
True Crime

Channel 5’s ‘Maxine’ series: Jemma Carlton cast as Maxine Carr

The C5 series follows the toxic relationship between Maxine Carr and her fiancé Ian Huntley

Maxine is a new true crime series on Channel 5 based on the Soham Murders – but who is in the cast?

The three-part series is told from the perspective of Maxine Carr, who was dating murderer Ian Huntley at the time.

Maxine Carr lied to the police to cover for Ian Huntley, who was responsible for killing the two school girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Both are still alive today, with Maxine living a new life with a hidden identity.

Meanwhile, Ian Huntley serves a life sentence in prison.

But who plays them in the cast of the Channel 5 series Maxine?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Jemma Carlton smiling in Maxine
Jemma Carlton plays Maxine Carr in the cast of the Channel 5 series Maxine (Credit: Channel 5)

Who plays Maxine Carr in the cast of the Channel 5 drama?

The notorious Maxine Carr is played by Jemma Carlton in the Channel 5 series.

Maxine was branded as one of the most hated women in Britain in 2003, when news got out that she had been lying to the police on behalf of her fiancé Ian Huntley.

Ian Huntley lured the two school girls into his home and murdered them in August 2002, while she was away.

In order to protect her boyfriend, Maxine lied to the police and created an alibi for him.

However, Maxine was eventually exposed as a liar and convicted of perverting the course of justice in 2003.

Actress Jemma Carlton is a total newcomer to our screens!

Her role as Maxine Carr is her first ever TV role.

Talking about her role on the show, Jemma said: “I felt Maxine was a mountain to climb as a part, but wanted to see how I can push myself in a complex real-life role.”

Jemma also told the Mirror how she wanted to get the little details about Maxine’s life right.

She said: “Understanding how she spoke, how her friends and mother were to her, all of that information helped form my take on how she would react in certain moments.”

Jemma graduated from Rose Bruford College.

On stage she played Kelly in Shut Up & Drive at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre, and Max Mayfield in Secret Cinema’s Stranger Things.

Jemma Carlton and Scott Reid looking anxious in Maxine
Scott Reid plays Ian Huntley in the cast of Maxine on Channel 5 (Credit: Channel 5)

Who plays Ian Huntley in Maxine?

Scott Reid takes on the role of Ian Huntley in the true crime series Maxine on Channel 5.

Ian Huntley was a caretaker at Soham Village College, who murdered 10-year-old school girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Ian managed to persuade his lover, Maxine, to provide a false alibi for him.

But the police later caught him out on his lies, and he was convicted for the girls’ murders in 2003 and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.

Scott is a Scottish actor and singer/songwriter who began acting at a very young age.

The actor attended PACE Youth Theatre for several years, before he graduated from the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland at the age of 19 in 2013.

Scott is best known for playing DC Mick Clark in HBO Max series White House Farm.

He also played Methadone Mick in the BBC Comedy Still Game, and Michael Farmer in Line of Duty.

Michael Farmer was a package handler and former criminal suspect wrongly arrested as a part of Operation Trapdoor.

Scott, 28, also took on the role of Remand Guard in the mini-series Deadwater Fell, alongside David Tennant.

Talking to the Mirror, Scott explained that it was important to him that Maxine was not exploitative.

He said: “Maxine is respectful to the victims ‘ memories and to their families and does not dramatise the murders themselves.

“But instead the key events around them.”

Read more: C5’s Maxine: Uproar over drama about Ian Huntley, Maxine Carr and the Soham Murders

YouTube video player

Maxine starts on Channel 5 on Monday 10 October 2022 at 9pm.

Will you be watching Maxine on Channel 5? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.


Aaliyah Ashfield
Digital Marketing Apprentice