Maxine Peake Joins Short Film The Secret Assistants as Executive Producer

Maxine Peake has joined the short film The Secret Assistants as an executive producer, Deadline reported on 27 October 2026. An executive producer is usually a senior backer who helps secure money and support for a project rather than running the day-to-day shoot.

The film is written and directed by Katey Lee Carson, who produces it with producing partner Rickie-Lee Roberts. It is a short film, much shorter than a feature, and it is BAFTA-qualifying. That means it meets the rules that allow it to be considered for awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

The story follows Sophie, an ambitious newcomer who wants to make it in the movie business. She has a high-stakes job interview with Henry Mann, a powerful figure in the industry. Camille Rutherford plays Sophie, and Richard Hope plays Henry. Gina Stiebitz and Emily Kusche complete the cast.

Peake told Deadline she wanted to be involved because the film is "timely, urgent and brilliant." She is the most recognisable name attached so far, and her role adds a familiar face to a project that is still finding its audience.

The film has already travelled. It has screened at the Busan International Short Film Festival in South Korea, the St Kilda Film Festival in Australia, and HollyShorts in Los Angeles. Festivals are where short films are seen by audiences, and often by the buyers and industry people who decide what reaches screens later.

Deadline also reported one detail about how the production was run. Everyone involved was paid the same rate, from the producers down to the runners, the entry-level crew members who handle errands and keep a shoot moving. That is an unusual approach in a business where pay often varies widely between roles.

For anyone who has ever wondered how a film gets made, The Secret Assistants offers a small window. A single short can bring together a writer-director, a producing team, a known actor in a supporting role, and a festival run, all before it reaches a wider audience.