She does the hard yards first, showing us the times when Williams is confused and fallible and nearly beaten by sadness. What we said: “Peake, an apparently pale, frail presence with fire beneath her skin, is ideal casting. More than just an excellently executed miniseries, it is a call to never back down in the fight for justice. Peake gives a trembling performance as a grieving mother who spent 23 years campaigning for the truth about her son’s death and the other 96 victims. Knowing how the day ends requires you to brace for the downpour of devastation and injustice ahead.
In the opening minutes of this four-part drama about Hillsborough, Anne Williams (Maxine Peake) waves off her excited teenage son and his friend to go and watch Liverpool play.