Razor-sharp gangsters a cut above the rest

He’s an actor, radio presenter, fashion icon and musician but one box Cillian Murphy won’t be ticking any time soon is politician. ‘It’s never going to happen,’ he says in his gentle I rish accent, looking horrified at the prospect. ‘I’m an actor, not a politician.’

Cillian may, however, receive offers. His Peaky Blinders character, the Birmingham gangster Thomas Shelby, is a Labour MP as we rejoin him in series five (the first two episodes are available on BBC iPlayer) and has already proved himself more than capable of holding his own in the House of Commons, with a rousing maiden speech in last week’s opening episode. But if there’s a political party who might want to use Cillian’s talent for oratory, they’d better think again. ‘It just doesn’t interest me,’ says Cillian, taking a break between filming on set in Liverpool. ‘What does interest me is Tommy Shelby and the state of his life and career.’

As he blasts back onto our screens, it’s fair to say that Tommy’s life and career are in a perilous state, unlike the show itself which has gone from strength to strength since its low-key launch on BBC2 in 2013. The gangster drama is now the jewel in the BBC crown, sold to 183 countries around the world.

Peaky Blinders’ unique style, with slow- motion action sequences and a rock’n’roll soundtrack, means it’s become achingly cool.

Even the Peaky

Blinders haircut – where the scalp is shaved, save for a mop of hair on top – is in vogue, while Hollywood A-listers badger writer Steven Knight for parts in the drama.

There’s even talk of a Peaky Blinders movie and a musical, and Steven is in the process of writing series six, with a seventh almost certain to follow. ‘My dream was to take Peaky Blinders to the first air raid sirens in Birmingham at the very start of World War Two,’ he reveals. ‘I probably never thought I’d achieve that but we are getting closer.’

For now, it’s 1929 and events in Wall Street are about to bring the Shelbys’ world crashing down. Tommy, who started off as a bookmaker but grew his business empire largely through violence, is still living in his magnificent mansion but the cracks are starting to show as the pressure mounts and a new enemy sets its sights on his crown. Having seen off the Italian Mafia, Tommy now has to take on the Billy Boys, a Protestant street gang from Glasgow, led by Jimmy McCavern (played by Brian Gleeson). Luckily Tommy’s clan – brothers Arthur and Finn (Paul Anderson and Harry Kirton), sister Ada (Sophie Rundle) and Aunt Polly (Helen McCrory) – are once again by his side. Anya Taylor-Joy also joins the cast as Gina, the wife of Polly’s son Michael Shelby.

Tommy himself is going to be feeling the effects of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he suffered after his experiences in the First World War trenches. ‘We’re getting back to the darkness of Tommy’s psyche, which we explored in season one but which to some extent had gone by the wayside,’ says director Anthony Byrne. ‘It’s fun to do running and shooting and blowing things up, but I’m more interested in the character and getting inside his head.’

That said, Tommy Shelby’s head is probably not a place you would want to linger for too long, and Cillian admits the role does get to him. ‘I have to give myself some space to shake him off when I’ve finished playing him, and time to prepare before I start a new series. I just sit around and awkwardly grow my hair out when a series is done!’

‘We’re getting back into Tommy’s dark psyche’ ‘She was the first to take down a man of that size’

BBC1, tomorrow, 9pm

Cillian Murphy as Tommy and (above) Anya Taylor-Joy as Gina

Russell Crowe (inset below), transformed into Roger Ailes (centre back). Naomi Watts plays Gretchen Carlson (in the pink dress), who sued him for sexual harassment, and Sienna Miller plays his wife Beth (front left)