They’ve played a Blinder
As Peaky Blinders returns for A sixth And final series, Danielle De Wolfe catches up with some of its cast As well As the show’s creator steven knight
Peaky Blinders Sunday, BBC1, 9pm
If YOU had to summarise Peaky Blinders in a single word, that word would be “chaotic” – or so says actress Sophie Rundle.
The the 34-year-old, who plays Shelby sibling Ada Thorne in the show, is speaking ahead of the launch of the sixth and final series of the Bafta-award-winning BBC crime drama.
Sophie stifles a laugh as she’s presented with some of the more obscure internet hearsay that has been linked to the forthcoming series.
“Mr Bean in the Peaky Blinders world? I mean, that’s a cameo I think we all want to see,” declares the actress, referencing one notable rumour from late 2020, which claimed Rowan Atkinson would be entering the show as Adolf Hitler.
Speculation that caused a fan furore across social media, the whispers resulted in a rapid and categorical denial from a Peaky Blinders spokesperson.
It exemplifies the Peaky fan base’s appetite for new material.
And now, nearly two and a half years since the last series aired, the show’s loyal army of followers are once again chomping at the bit for the new episodes.
“By virtue of the Instagram algorithm, I sometimes see the fan art and content people have generated off the back of watching the show – that’s just my favourite thing about being part of Peaky Blinders,” says Sophie.
“People really do love this world – and that inspires them to generate their own content off the back of it, and I love that.”
Our chat comes as the show’s creator, Steven Knight, unveiled a striking 42ft-high mural of the series’ gang leader, Tommy Shelby, on the side of the Old Crown pub in Digbeth, Birmingham.
formerly an industrial neighbourhood where the term “Peaky Blinder” was first coined, the show is loosely based on a gang of the same name who were active in the city for about two decades during the late 19th and early 20th century.
“It’s been an amazing journey,” says Steven, as he stands in front of the impressive artwork.
“The thing has snowballed and, even now, more and more people are discovering it, which is the great about streaming – it doesn’t have its day and disappear.”
And disappear it will not, as the Shelbys are set to make their stage debut as part of the upcoming adaptation, Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby.
Not only that, but Steven has previously noted his desire to transfer the Peaky Blinders’ tale onto the big screen.
“Peaky – in this incarnation – comes to an end,” says Steven, “but we’re doing a film which will also carry on the family and the stories into the Second World War.”
As optimistic as the show’s creator is, when it comes to the future of Peaky Blinders, the final series carries a distinct and undeniably sombre undertone.
Describing the “challenge” of continuing the Peaky Blinders’ story following the death of actress Helen Mccrory, the writer says he “knew that she would have wanted [it] to continue”.
“The loss of such an incredible human being is the main thing. The loss of such an incredible performer is awful,” adds Steven. Helen, who played Shelby matriarch Polly Gray in the hit show, died from cancer last April, aged 52. A star of the Harry Potter franchise and wife of Homeland and Billions actor Damien Lewis, Helen was “right at the heart” of the Peaky Blinders tale according to Steven. “There are three central characters – she was one of them.” It’s a sentiment shared by fellow Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy, who protagonist Tommy
plays main Shelby.
In a recent interview with Variety, he described the cast and crew’s “determination” to make this a “special series”.
Going on to note that series six “simply won’t be the same” without the actress, Cillian describes Helen’s passing as an “enormous loss to the whole acting community.”
“I think the whole series is really in tribute to her and to honour her,” says Cillian. “Her presence and her character’s presence are very much still felt in the series, and it is very much part of Tommy’s journey in the season.”
Describing Helen as a “fundamental” part of the show, Sophie, who plays Polly’s niece, says returnthing ing to set without the actress was a “baffling” experience.
Leaving a maternal hole both onscreen and off, Sophie adds that the cast and crew ensured Helen has “remained an enormously integral part of the show, even in absence”.
As for Ada, despite striving to distance herself from her family’s unsavoury reputation over the past decade, she can be found taking the reins from her late aunt this time around.
A move “born out of necessity” according to Sophie, Ada’s attempts to emulate Polly’s firm hand in dealing with the Shelby clan’s unruly behaviour comes as a result of needing to “fill the gap”.
“She was a kid when we started series one, but I think that when you grow up, you kind of re-meet your parents,” explains the actress.
“You have to form a new relationship as two adults in a room, rather than just the kid and the parental figure, and she does that with Polly.
“[Ada’s] a mother, she’s been through her own journey, and then in Polly’s absence, I think she takes on a lot of her characteristics because actually she realises how much he admired them.”
This series is also set to star Line Of Duty actor Stephen Graham.
Steven Knight has described the Liverpudlian as one of the show’s shining lights, adding: “I really wanted to use him as a character and there was a particular Scouse character that becomes part of the story – and who else would you cast?”
As for the lasting legacy of Peaky Blinders, Sophie says part of the show’s appeal remains its ability to highlight the grittier side of history.
“It’s not all tea parties and corsets,” she says, reflecting on the working class narrative Peaky Blinders is built upon.
“It’s just people, you know? It’s fun, and you can have fun with it – and that’s what Peaky has always done.”
I think the whole series is really in tribute to [Helen Mccrory] and to honour her. Her presence and her character’s presence are very much still felt in the series, and it is very much part of Tommy’s journey in the season. Cillian Murphy on his late co-star