Maisie Smith is famous for playing Tiffany Butcher in EastEnders, but her choice of boyfriend has caused as much controversy as one of her character’s plotlines!
She’s the latest celebrity to be spun around on Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, and she’ll be in the spotlight asking questions on the BBC soap that made her famous.
But there are plenty of other topics she’s got experience of… Strictly Come Dancing, pranks gone wrong, and celeb controversies… Here’s everything you need to know about Maisie Smith, including her famous boyfriend and lookalike sister, and how she became a star.
Who is Maisie Smith? What’s she been in?
Maisie Smith is best known for playing Tiffany Butcher in EastEnders from She joined the BBC One soap as a child star, and stayed until she was an adult.
In 2008, the same year she joined EastEnders, she was cast in the film The Other Boleyn Girl as the young Elizabeth 1. She also appeared in CITV show Bookaboo in which she read Stinky by Ian Whybrow.
In 2020, she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Gorka Marquez. The pair made the final – losing out to eventual winner Bill Bailey.
More recently, she played Chloe in the John Hannah film Bermondsey Tales: Fall of the Roman Empire. She also took part in the 2022 series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. Maisie is currently touring with Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds. She appears in the show, alongside her real life boyfriend Max George.
When did she first appear in EastEnders?
Maisie was a child star and joined the cast of the BBC One soap in 2008 at the age of six. According to her mum, Maisie was a feisty young actress who wasn’t too far removed from the role of Tiffany.
She said: “The role is an exaggeration of her own personality. She’s a little madam. She’s a lively character both on and off screen. The difference is, she’s told to pronounce her T’s at home!
“She is not star-struck at all and has her feet very firmly on the ground. She is an extremely confident child and a great actress.”
Maisie was on the show until 2014, then took some time out, briefly returned in November 2016, before coming back full time in January 2018. She left again in 2021, and popped back in 2022 for one episode.
She once said of being on the iconic soap: “I love being on EastEnders. I really [got] on with Patsy Palmer who plays my mum. She looks after me so well. It’s like I’m her real daughter some days. Everyone is really nice. I’m glad I get to be cheeky and say some funny lines. I would never want to be a goody goody. It’s strange people point at me in the street now. All my friends think it’s great I’m on television. I think I will want to be an actress forever now.”
Talking about the fame that accompanies being in a soap, she added: “Sudden fame can be tricky when you are just out having fun and people keep wanting to take your photo. But the EastEnders people are very supportive and have said that we can politely say no in situations where we feel uncomfortable.
“I am very glad that my break came with EastEnders, as they are like a family who look after you. Working on the show has given me the chance to learn so much from the actors, especially those who are in my TV family.”
How old is Maisie? Where is she from?
Maisie Louise Collender Smith was born on July 09, 2001, in Westcliff, Essex.
She is currently 22 years of age.
The actress grew up on Westcliff-on-Sea with her mum and dad and sister Scarlett. She attended the local Belfairs Academy and the Sandra Singer Stage School, She later attended the South Essex College where she immersed herself in musical theatre.
Who is Maisie Smith’s lookalike sister?
Maisie’s sister is Scarlett Smith, who is four years older than her. But, despite the age difference, they pair are the spitting image of each other!
Scarlett lives in Essex with her family, but recently studied TV Production at Bournemouth University. Like her parents Stephen and Julia, Scarlett gets involved in the family’s TikTok videos.
Does Maisie sing?
Yes, Maisie Smith can sing. And does!
In October 2016, Maisie released her first single, Good Thing. Far from being a song as cheesy as Anita Dobson’s Anyone Can Fall In Love, the track and the other songs on the EP were dance-floor anthems and considered cool.
Maisie has said a lot of her songs were personal and “wanted to write a song that inspired others”. She has since recorded Not Gonna Cry, and Where My Heart Is.
You can follow her music career on her official YouTube channel.
Did Maisie win Strictly?
Maisie made the final of Strictly in 2o2o, but lost out to firm favourite Bill Bailey. However, she DID win the Strictly Children In Need special in 2019.
That Christmas, she performed the Cha-Cha with Kevin Clifton, and won the whole thing. However, modest Maisie insisted during an appearance on This Morning that her win was a “fluke”, denying she has any “technical ability”.
She said: “I’m not gonna lie, I’ve got dancing experience. I’ve done a bit of hip-hop in my time, but I have no technical ability at all. So I was very lucky on that week, but who knows, I could be a dark horse!”
Due to her win, Maisie was one of the favourites to scoop the 2020 glitterball in the main show. However, some fans criticised the fact that Maisie’s already a trained dancer.
Who is the boyfriend of Maisie Smith?
Maisie Smith is dating boyfriend Max George. The telly stars first met on Strictly when they both took part in 2020. Maisie and Max then did the Strictly tour together back in 2022 – and the pair went official in the summer of that year.
In November 2022, Max admitted he had fallen for Maisie during their time touring the UK. Since then, they have gone from strength to strength.
The pair now live together.
Max previously dated I’m A Celebrity star Amy Willerton, and Miss Oklahoma contestant Carrie Baker. He was also linked to Stacey Giggs and Michelle Keegan.
What is the age gap between Maisie Smith and boyfriend Max George?
Maisie and Max’s relationship has raised some eyebrows since they went public. One of the main reasons the relationship has been branded “controversial” is because of the age gap between the pair. Max is 35, whereas Maisie is 22.
In November 2022, Max hit back at the age gap claims of his romance with Maisie. In a message for his 987.7k followers, Max tweeted saying: “I’ve just read that apparently mine and Maisie’s age gap is ‘controversial’. A woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s. What the [bleep] are they implying? I’d love an explanation please DM.”
Maisie Smith and Max George prank gone wrong
Max and Maisie were criticised last year after sparking pregnancy rumours. The couple played a prank on their followers – but their fans really didn’t see the funny side.
The couple posted two photos to their Stories. In the first photo, Maisie could be seen smiling at the camera, while Max looked down at her belly in shock. However, her belly was covered by a red heart emoji.
“We’ve got some really exciting news,” she captioned the snap. However, all was not as it seemed. In the second photo, the red heart emoji had been removed, showing Maisie with a “food baby”.
She said: “I just had the best five-course meal of my life. The posts were later deleted after a backlash. Fans of the couple took to Twitter to slam them for their prank yesterday.
One fan tweeted: “Maisie Smith and Max George joking about being pregnant is disgusting. Just not something to be joking about.”
Another said: “Didn’t mind Maisie Smith until she made a joke about being pregnant on her Instagram story – incredibly bad vibes.”
A third fumed: “Not @maisie_smith_ and @MaxGeorge making out that she’s expecting [angry emoji] such a [bleep] joke! Kick to all of us who struggle with fertility.”
Maisie Smith Balenciaga controversy
That wasn’t the only time Max and Maisie have been involved in some controversy. Their Valentine’s Day gifts also lost them some fans.
On Valentine’s Day 2023, they came under fire for a gift Max got for Maisie. He got his girlfriend something from Balenciaga – and their followers weren’t happy.
Balenciaga came under fire last year over its use of children in a campaign for BDSM-styled bags. The fashion label apologised with a statement. However, many are still boycotting the brand.
Will Maisie ever return to EastEnders?
Maisie Smith has teased a return for her popular character, Tiffany Butcher-Baker. The actress quit the BBC soap in 2021 to focus on other projects.
But she has now said that she hasn’t ruled out a comeback. Speaking to Inside Soap, she said: “The moment I left they said to me ‘We’re so excited to see what you’re going to do, but you’re always welcome to come back and reunite the family’. And I said, ‘Absolutely!'”
She added: “I said if they ever need me, just call me. I have so much family there with cast and the crew, I don’t think anyone ever really leaves. That’s what is nice about EastEnders. You always have a place there.”
Maisie Smith ‘crazy fight’ with reality TV star
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins star Maisie Smith revealed she became a “completely different person” while filming the Channel 4 show.
Maisie admitted she had a “crazy” fight with fellow Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins star Ferne McCann, and suffered major bruises from jumping out of a helicopter.
Former Strictly star Maisie confessed that in one scene, she had to scrap with TOWIE‘s Ferne McCann. She expressed that neither of the women wanted to fight each other, but they just shut their eyes and “went crazy” at each other.
Maisie told The Sun: “They went: ‘Go,’ and I wasn’t expecting her to just go crazy. But she literally just went: ‘Agh’. And just screamed. I think she shut her eyes, screamed and just went crazy.”
The actress added: “I thought, okay, I need to step up my game. I was going for a solid minute with just screaming and punching, like a proper cat fight.”
After the fight, she was nicknamed Tiny Temper by the Directing Staff.
Actress Maisie reveals ‘body insecurities’
Maisie has talked candidly about her body insecurities, and battle with body dysmorphia.
She told ED!: “I’ve always had insecurities and I probably always will. I think everyone has.”
Maisie also discussed her body dysmorphia in a clip of herself singing a song. Performing the tune while playing the guitar, she sang: “When I was little I would look in the mirror, holding in my stomach wishing that I was thinner. Guess I had a case of body dysmorphia – and I still haven’t shaken it off.
“Things were getting heavy, that’s what the scales told me. Only 13 years old, wiping the tears of my cheeks, it felt like no-one else around me really understood.”
See Maisie Smith on The Wheel on Saturday, May 25, 2024 at 7.35pm on BBC One.
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