Maxine Peake: Peterloo touches on themes that are still relevant today

Actress Maxine Peake has told ITV News that she feels the new movie Peterloo touches on themes that are still relevant in today's society.

The film is based around the Peterloo Massacre that took place at St Peter's Field in Manchester in 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of up to 80,000 people who were protesting for parliamentary representation.

Ms Peake, who plays the part of Nellie, believes the element of those struggling to make ends meet in the film have similar troubles to those experienced in the UK by many.

"It resonates today because this is a film about people struggling for jobs, for food, for their livelihood, and that's where we are unfortunately," she said.

"The themes are still constant, you've just got people struggling to make a living - people struggling to get by day by day."