HIT SHOW’S CREATOR Of course my Peaky Blinders is violent... it’s about gangsters

PEAKY Blinders creator Steven Knight has defended the violence in his historical gangster TV show after leading cast member Helen Mccrory labelled it disgusting.

Screenwriter Steven, 59, whose hit BBC drama about a 1900s Birmingham crime family returns next Sunday, said: “It’s about gangsters so inevitably there are depictions of violence.

“But I always try to show the consequences of that violence, rather than the characters dusting themselves off and they’re fine again.”

Earlier this week Helen, 51, who has played crime family aunt Polly Gray since the show launched six years ago, said: “I look away from the screen. I can’t watch it. I think it’s disgusting, gratuitous violence.

“But it is. And it should be. It should be horrifying. You should have the people who are responsible for the violence unable to self- medicate or having mental health problems, or all the things that do happen if you kill other people.”

And Steven agrees it is important to show that the violence of gangster Tommy Shelby – played by Cillian Murphy, 43 – and the rest of the cast has a long-lasting impact.

Worst

He said: “I think it is important to show that any act of violence has huge consequences. Sometimes those consequences last a whole l i fetime. Sometimes we show those consequences a series later.

“The worst sort of violence is when it is depicted without consequences, as if it is just easy.” Steven came up with the concept of Peaky Blinders after hearing stories of the gangsters and illegal bookmakers his parents encountered as kids growing up in Small Heath, Birmingham.

But he admits he could never have imagined it becoming the cultural phenomenon it is six years on.

People even have Peaky Blinders-themed weddings, copying the fashion and the hairstyles and emulating characters.

Soccer legend egend David Beckham, 44, turned up to watch the latest series five being filmed in Birmingham.

American an rap star Snoop Dogg, 47, is a huge ge fan.

And David vid Bowie, 69, asked for his last album um Blackstar to be featured in the show w shortly before his death in 2016.

Steven said: aid: “I don’t know what it is about the show. I think maybe be because it is about a family, and people can n relate to that.

“It’s people ople operating outside of the r ul es, and viewers enjoy that.

“I had no o idea it would have such an appeal. Th They really identify with the show and the characters. It seems to cross the class barriers as well, so I’m really pleased with that.”

Throughout the show the troubled lead charact character Tommy shows signs of post-traumatic poststress disorder follo following his experiences in the First W World War. And Steven says many m war vetera veterans have contac contacted him to say they relate to Tommy’s struggles struggles.

He said said: “We’ve had very moving letters and c communications fro from people who have suffered PTSD.

“That is t the most gratifying com communication you can ge get. Tommy does a lot of bad things, but I think people realise why he is doing them.

“He’s a good man doing bad things for a good reason.”

As well as Tommy and the rest of the Shelby lads, the show has strong female characters.

Aunt Polly is the glue that holds the Shelby family together.

And two other women, Ada Thorne, played by Sophie Rundle, and Linda Shelby, played by Kate Phillips, have a steely resilience that is a match for the tough Shelby boys.

True

“It wasn’t a conscious decision to have strong female characters,” said Steven.

“I’m just reflecting the world. Certainly in my family growing up, women ruled the roost.

“I think it was very true in the 20s and 30s that families were held together and decisions were made by women.”

Peaky – which had average viewing figures of 3.3 million in the last series – will move from BBC2 to BBC1 next Sunday due to its huge popularity. Steven said: “I wrote most