OFF-beat comedy The Bisexual starring Maxine Peake airs on Channel 4 on Wednesday

The six parter ­— with the full series now available on All 4 to view ­— takes a hilarious, if somewhat painful, look at the difference of dating men and women from the perspective of someone who dates both.

It has already drawn comparisons to groundbreaking label-mates such as Cucumber and Queer As Folk

The Bolton-born BAFTA nominated actor talks about what attracted her to to the role of Sadie, whose partner Leila is getting cold feet.

ACTOR, writer and director, Bolton-born Maxine Peake is one of the country's most sought after talents.

Known for her ability to play a wide range of characters ­— from Twinkle in Dinnerladies to Hamlet on the stage ­— the former Westhoughton High School pupil is now starring in the much anticipated series.

"I work on what interests me, but I think it’s a little bit of a hangover from being at drama school, being Northern, and people telling you you’d only ever play certain roles," said Maxine,

She added: "People think if you’ve got a northern accent, that’s it. Like there’s only one character type that comes out of the North. Like we’re all one and the same person, in a way. So I think I’m always keen to show that I can do something else. I like doing different and interesting projects, and it’s about stretching yourself as an actor.

"The story is about Leila (Desiree Akhavan), who’s a young woman who’s living in East London, right in the centre of Hipsterville. And then she starts to have feelings that she’s maybe not ready to settle down, and also that she might want to start dating men as well. It’s about her coming- of-age journey. And it’s about a group of friends who she meets along the way. Desiree says it’s seen as sort of the last taboo, a lesbian coming out as bisexual."

The former Westhoughton High School pupil said she wanted to be part of the series after finding out Desiree was involved in it.

"I read it, and I’d seen her film Appropriate Behaviour, and I just thought she was extraordinary," said Maxine, "And then she’s over here, writing, directing and starring in something, and I thought 'I want to be a part of this.'

"Desiree wrote me a lovely letter saying 'I really don’t know your work, but people keep saying you should be playing Sadie'"

Maxine said: "It felt like nothing else I’d seen on British telly when I read it. And I felt like it was very different to stuff I’d done previously."

To make life a little more complicated there is a age gap between Desiree and Sadie.

Maxine said: "As a woman, the 20s are when you're having fun, and 30s are the time when you’re thinking about family and settling down. That’s what we’re led to believe is what we should be thinking, as women.

"Sadie hasn’t necessarily had the easiest life. She alludes to what it was like growing up as gay in Burnley in the 1980s."

When asked if she would like to follow in Desiree's footsteps to write, direct and star in her own television series, Maxine said: "I’m not sure. I’ve written plays, but I’ve never been in a play that I’ve written, and I haven’t wanted to be. I get a lot of pleasure watching other people create the characters that I’ve written. And I have directed stuff, but I didn’t write that, so it’s all a bit different. I’ve not done the multiple roles thing. I think maybe writing and directing. But then, if I wrote a good enough part, maybe I’d want to be in it! But I do enjoy bringing other people’s words to life. But definitely I’d be interested in writing/directing. That has a lot of pull to me. But it’s so hard to juggle all those disciplines at once. Desiree’s calmness and professionalism all the way through was a real lesson."