Max still has hard days after heart op, reveals Maisie Smith as she chats about working on stage with partner
Read below to find out if Maisie could ever be tempted back to EastEnders
MAISIE SMITH’S relationship with chart star Max George was put to the test when he had life-saving heart surgery last year.
Now 11 months on, the former EastEnders actress has revealed their bond is stronger than ever — after she fell in love with him all over again this year.
The couple worked alongside each other, playing a husband and wife in Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds in March.
Asked if she was won over by Max once more, she said: “Yeah, definitely. I mean, I loved what he wore as well. I was like, ‘Oh, you look different!’. It was nice, yeah.
“We got to fall in love on stage as well, which was lovely.”
Speaking about acting together for the first time, she added: “We absolutely loved it.”
Max, 37, portrayed priest Parson Nathaniel, with Maisie, 24, playing his wife Beth in TWOTW: The Spirit Of Man tour across the UK and Europe.
Maisie said: “It was so nice to get to work with each other because it’s so rare to be able to go on tour with your other half.
“It was really enjoyable and so nice being able to play a couple because we already had that down.”
She added: “It was fun and it was easy because if we ever had any problems, or if there was something he was doing, I was like, ‘You’re treading on my dress’. And it wasn’t a big deal.
“I could just tell him, ‘Don’t stand on my dress!’. It was amazing as we also got to sing to each other.
Psychological thriller
“He had to do a London accent as well, which obviously is hilarious because he’s so Manc. It was good and I’d love to work with him again.”
Max was fitted with a pacemaker last December after his mum Babs realised he had “turned blue” and insisted he should go to A&E.
Fearing he would die in the hospital just days before Christmas, the star even wrote out a will on his iPhone.
And with Maisie by his side, Max went on to document his road to recovery for his 388,000 Instagram followers.
No one knew what was going to happen this time last year, so it’s really nice to see him doing what he was born to do
Last month, Max wrapped the American leg of The Wanted 2.0 Tour alongside bandmate Siva Kaneswaran.
Asked about his health, Maisie said: “Yeah, it’s good. He’s getting better all the time. I mean, he was well enough to do this tour, which is amazing, because obviously that’s what he wants to be doing.
“He still has hard days and better days, but he’s definitely getting stronger again and it’s nice to see him performing.
“I went out to New York on my week off and watched him perform to thousands of people and it’s a nice feeling to see him do that after the year he’s had.
“So yeah, he’s doing well. No one knew what was going to happen this time last year, so it’s really nice to see him doing what he was born to do.”
After last Christmas was left in turmoil by the medical emergency, Maisie said the couple, who met on Strictly in 2020, are planning a romantic getaway to France this year.
She explained: “I’ve actually got seven weeks off over Christmas, which is really nice to just sit at home, chill and do nothing.
“But we’ve booked a trip to France over Christmas. It is just going to be me and him in a little cottage somewhere — skiing and just enjoying winter. Then maybe a hot holiday after because I feel like I deserve it! I haven’t actually skied since I was about six, so I might have to have a couple of lessons.”
Maisie is currently starring in The Talented Mr Ripley alongside actor Ed McVey, who was Prince William in Netflix hit The Crown.
She is playing Marge Sherwood in the stage adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 psychological thriller about con artist Tom Ripley.
Speaking about the role of Marge, Maisie said: “She’s so different to anything I’ve ever played. She’s so different from me as well.
“She’s smart and sharp, but gentle, and she’s the only character in the show who isn’t completely convinced by this facade of Tom Ripley. She’s just a really endearing but intelligent character.
“Obviously, she’s American and it’s set in the Fifties, so it’s a really fun and different role for me to play. I think she’s very independent. She lives on her own, but has a boyfriend in a different place and she’s a writer and photographer.
“It’s just a beautiful story that was written so well and it’s timeless as well because the audience is all ages. It’s just a brilliant story that will never go out of style.”
Of her similarities with Marge, Maisie said: “I’ve started writing myself. I’ve even got a camera and I’m doing photography.
“So I feel like there was definitely an essence of myself in that.
“And, of course, the fact that me and her, we’re both very independent, we’ve both got partners, but our career is our life — I just think she’s a really fun character to play.”
Maisie added of her New York accent: “I think the hardest part for me as an Essex girl is that I’m lazy with my vocab.
“So obviously with that accent, you have to pronounce every letter in the word. I have to do so many vocal warm-ups before the show, like move my tongue around, otherwise it won’t happen.”
Asked what Max makes of her New York twang, she said: “It creeps him out. He’s like, ‘You don’t sound like you’.
Mum loved my new show. She gave me the best compliment an actor can receive – that it didn’t even feel like she was watching me
“It’s a very cool accent to do and it makes me sound very intelligent.”
Meanwhile, Maisie revealed that Max is looking forward to seeing her put those vocal lessons into practice on stage.
She said: “He hasn’t seen me yet. He was going to a few weeks back, but he was going through medical problems so he stayed at home. I said, ‘Let’s just wait until I’m in Manchester’. Then I can really start to relax with the show and he’s going to come and watch it then.”
Maisie also revealed her mum Julia gave her the seal of approval when she watched her daughter on stage in Birmingham as part of the Ripley tour.
The former soap star said: “She absolutely loved it. And you know what? I think she gave me the best compliment an actor can receive. She said that when she watched it, she didn’t even feel like she was watching me.
“She was like, ‘I felt like I forgot it was Maisie for a while’.
‘Any type of role’
“That is such a compliment when your mum doesn’t realise it’s you on stage because she was just so immersed in the show.”
Maisie said she hopes the play will end up in London next year following a successful UK tour.
She added: “I’d love to do a West End show, especially because London is where all my family and friends are.
“It would be so nice to be in a play and have people from my family and home come along to watch it. And to also be in the same place every night, which would be nice.
“Then I can buy a place and commute from London, which will be very different.”
Maisie was six when she captured the hearts of the nation as Tiffany Butcher, daughter of Bianca (Patsy Palmer) and Ricky (Sid Owen) in EastEnders.
But the actress said her soap background has not held her back from securing roles.
She revealed: “Even though people recognise me mostly from EastEnders, I don’t think I’ve felt typecast. I still feel like I can adapt to any type of role.”
But Maisie said she could be persuaded to go back to Walford if her agent called.
She said: “You just never know. It’s the kind of place that I could never say no to right now.
“It’s always there in the back of my mind.”
