Peaky Blinders series six start date REVEALED

The sixth and final series of Peaky Blinders will launch on BBC One on February 27 at 9pm, it has been confirmed.

The return of the iconic gangster drama was announced via a striking 12.71m high mural of the series’ epic gang leader Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) in Digbeth, Birmingham.

Fans of the acclaimed drama have waited more than two years for a new series, with explosive scenes teased in a recent trailer showing Shelby open fire with a machine gun. 

The fifth season ended on a cliffhanger, with Tommy seeing visions of his late wife Grace (Annabelle Wallis) and turning a gun on himself following his botched assassination attempt of the British Union of Fascists leader.

Peaky Blinders began airing in 2013 and tells the tale of the notorious Shelby family’s rise to prominence and power, against the backdrop of working class, post-First World War Birmingham.      

This comes as creator Steven Knight said the final season of Peaky Blinders will ‘go into and beyond the Second World War’ and is ‘the end of the beginning’ as he teased a future film release.

For many years the creator claimed the gangster show would end with air-raid sirens over Birmingham marking the start of World War Two.   

Wow: A trailer for the new series saw Tommy Shelby opening fire in explosive scenes

But in an apparent U-turn, Knight has revealed the sixth series is merely the end of the narrative on the small screen and teased that the story will continue in a feature-length film.  

‘It was always Britain between the wars – how the lesson from one war was not learned and was repeated,’ he told Empire. 

‘It’s also the end of empire: we enter the Second World War and by the end of it, there is no empire, really. But I… have revised the scope of what it is.  

‘It will now go into and beyond the Second World War. Because I just think the energy that is out there in the world for this, I want to keep it going, and I want to see how this can progress beyond that..

‘I think of this sixth series as the end of the beginning.’ 

Iconic: The return of the iconic gangster drama was announced via a striking 12.71m high mural of the series’ epic gang leader Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) in Digbeth, Birmingham

Peaky Blinders much-anticipated trailer for its final season left fans on the edge of their seats as Shelby opened fire in intense scenes.  

The 90-second teaser trailer kicks off with Tommy dramatically walking across a shadowy field before firing a machine gun into the air while shouting.

‘One last deal to be done, then we Peaky Blinders rest,’ Tommy says. 

The trailer was jam-packed with nail-biting stand-offs, intense fight scenes and a devastating fire, leaving fans wondering what plot twists the final series would bring.  

Fan favourites: Tense scenes from the trailer also featured appearances from Joe Cole’s John Shelby, Anya Taylor-Joy’s Gina Gray and fascist leader Oswald Mosley, played by Sam Claflin

Tense scenes also featured appearances from Joe Cole’s John Shelby, Anya Taylor-Joy’s Gina Gray and fascist leader Oswald Mosley, played by Sam Claflin.

Stephen Graham, known for his roles in This Is England and Line of Duty, has also joined the cast for the final series of the Birmingham crime drama.

It was previously revealed that Tom Hardy’s Alfie Solomons will return for the sixth and final series, after many fans believed he was dead after being shot by Tommy. 

Lead star Cillian Murphy recently revealed the impact of co-star and friend Helen McCrory’s death on the show’s final series.

The actor, 45, spoke to Variety about the upcoming series of the show and how it will be ‘in tribute’ to the late actress, who passed away from breast cancer last year. 

Cillian explained her absence in the show will play a big part of the story of his character, Thomas Shelby.

He said: ‘I think the whole series is really in tribute to her and to honor 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. 

‘It’ll be different without her, you know. It simply won’t be the same. I’ve spoken about how phenomenal she was as an actress and as a person and it is an enormous loss to the whole acting community and not just for our show. 

Newbie: Stephen Graham, known for his roles in This Is England and Line of Duty, has also joined the cast for the final series of the Birmingham crime drama

‘My thoughts are always with Damian [Lewis] and her kids. I just hope that the show will live up to her memory and our memory of her.’  

Helen did not film any scenes as her iconic character Aunt Polly in the sixth and final series of Peaky Blinders following her cancer diagnosis.  

The BAFTA Cymru award winner did not get the chance to appear in any scenes and creators of the BBC drama had to rewrite ‘vast sections’ of the show.

Filming for the last series was brought to a standstill in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and resumed in January 2021.

Helen swore friends to secrecy as she faced gruelling breast cancer treatment.

She passed away in April last year and had appeared on TV to promote the Prince’s Trust only six weeks before her death, and shared her secret struggle with ‘very, very few people’.  

A spokeswoman told The Sun: ‘Helen did not film with us in series six but Polly is an ever-present part of the show.

‘She is forever the matriarch of the Shelby family and her presence is always felt by Tommy and the rest of the family. Her influence is an integral part of the season.’ 

He’s back: It was also revealed earlier this month that Tom Hardy’s Alfie Solomons will return for the sixth and final series, after many fans believed he was dead after being shot by Tommy

According to reports, Aunt Polly was set to have a larger role in the new series, before she had to be rewritten out of the script.

Helen played Polly Gray since series one which aired in 2013 and became a household name thanks to the part and her role in Harry Potter.   

Her final TV role was in the autumn of 2020, portraying Prime Minister Dawn Ellison opposite Hugh Laurie in the BBC political drama Roadkill.

Following Helen’s death, her husband Damian Lewis wrote on Twitter: ‘I’m heartbroken to announce that after a heroic battle with cancer…

‘The beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family.

‘She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you.’  

He later revealed his late wife had urged him to find love again just two weeks before her death, adding she had shown ‘no fear, no bitterness’ and ‘no self-pity.’

Writing in The Sunday Times, the actor said Helen told him and their children, daughter Manon, 14, and son Gulliver, 13, that she wanted ‘Daddy to have lots of girlfriends’.

He wrote: ‘She has been utterly heroic in her illness. Funny, of course — generous, brave, uncomplaining, constantly reminding us all of how lucky we’ve been, how blessed we are.  

‘Her generosity has extended to encouraging us three to live. Live fully, take opportunities, have adventures.

‘Only a couple of weeks ago she said to us from her bed, ‘I want Daddy to have girlfriends, lots of them, you must all love again, love isn’t possessive, but you know, Damian, try at least to get though the funeral without snogging someone.’

Damian also wrote of his heartbreak that Helen had left their children ‘too early’ but they have been prepared for life as she taught them to be ‘courageous’.

He stood by the actress’ side during her illness, with Helen brushing off her hoarse voice in her final TV appearance last month to selflessly talk about their charity work.

The couple’s devotion to one another shone brightly for all to see, with Lewis saying the actress died peacefully at home surrounded by ‘peace and love’ and their children. 

Tragic: It is the first series since former star Helen McCrory (pictured with Cillian), who played Polly, passed away from cancer aged 52