Maxine Peake gave an audience insight into how important library spaces are to her as part of the Festival of Libraries week.

The former Westhoughton High School and Canon Slade student took centre stage in the new renovated Bolton Central Library on Wednesday, June 12 at 1pm.

Maxine, renowned for her captivating roles in Three Girls, Black Mirror, and Silk, shared how libraries have shaped her life and work.

The visit was part of the Festival of Libraries.

She said: “I think everyone in Bolton at one point was an expert in Egyptology because the library has always held so much treasure and you could open things up and have a look.”

Maxine touched on her schooling and how libraries helped her in her work and talked about how cutting support for them was due to fear.

She said: “At Westhoughton we did drama but not plays, just improvisations.

“And if they’re trying to cut everything here, it is because they are scared working people will educate themselves.

“Because libraries teach us to ask questions, and to explore, so we should be teaching people this.”

Maxine called libraries a "safe haven" for people in Bolton.

She said: “It’s not just books, they’re a safe haven and a community space.

“There are events like this and getting people together and I think anything that holds that possibility is something that too radical.”

Bolton Library’s recent refurbishment has completely transformed the space for the people of Bolton.

With a café and a modern look, the library encapsulates the need to be more than just a place to borrow books.

Maxine said: “How amazing is that when a lot of other libraries really are up against it and closed.

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“I used to live where there was a mobile library and used it was so exciting and you’d wait, and it would pull up and you’d get on and I still remember the smell of the books and wandering around and just take something just for the sake of it sometimes.”

Maxine stopped to speak to people afterwards at the event and enjoyed her time in the library.

The event was just one day of the week long series to promote the libraries new look and activities within.