The latest series of Peaky Blinders will air this weekend – but for the first time in the show’s history, it will be without Helen McCrory in the role of the family matriarch Polly Gray.
The stars of the show have said that filming episodes without the actor, who died of cancer in April 2021, has felt ‘off-kilter and wrong’.
Cillian Murphy stars as Tommy Shelby in the hit series, and said that Helen’s death after a private cancer battle was ‘unbelievably sad and difficult’.
Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “I’m always careful when I talk about it. I’m a friend and a colleague, but then you think about Damian [Lewis, McCrory’s husband] and their kids.
“I don’t own that grief, you know?
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Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders. Credit: BBC
“But she was a remarkable human being and a remarkable actor. It was very hard to make it without her.”
McCrory also starred as Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise.
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Sophie Rundle, who plays Ada Shelby in Peaky Blinders, said that Helen’s death was ‘a devastating thing for all of us’.
The cast have filmed a tribute to both Polly and Helen in the new series.
Sophie continued: “So in the tribute, that’s all real, that emotion. It really was a moment to think about her and what she had been.
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Helen McCrory in Peaky Blinders. Credit: BBC
“And this show wouldn’t have been what it is without her, I really believe that. I really believe that she was fundamental to making Peaky what it is and elevating it to be more than just the script, so it was a huge loss and it was just incredibly sad.”
The show’s creator Steven Knight said that he had originally written Polly into the final season, but changed the script when ‘it became apparent that there was less and less she would be able to do’.
He said to the Radio Times: “The loss of the human being, the loss of Helen is the tragedy. That’s the thing. The loss of the character is infinitesimal compared to that. However, it’s our job to deal with that.
“To begin with, Polly was in the series and then incrementally bit by bit, it became apparent that there was less and less she would be able to do. And so in the end, we’d reached a point where we knew that she couldn’t be in it at all.
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“And then you have to first of all deal with the consequences in terms of the story, taking a moment to deal with the loss of the character, but then knowing that that has a reflection in the real world with the loss of the person. So it was trying to balance all of that, and I think we’ve done it right.”
The sixth season of Peaky Blinders will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Sunday February 27.
Featured image: BBC
TV & Showbiz
Liam Gallagher says he turned down an offer to be on The Celebrity Traitors… and the reason why is baffling
Emily Sergeant
Liam Gallagher says he turned down an offer to be on The Celebrity Traitors… but the reason why is not what you’d expect.
It’d be easy enough to imagine the Oasis frontman saying no to a trip to the castle due to work commitments, or maybe because he’s just wanting to rest up ahead the massive Oasis Live ’27 tour next year, but surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly… this is Liam Gallagher we’re talking about, after all) that isn’t the case.
If you’ve never seen The Celebrity Traitors before, it’s a spinoff of the wildly popular main series, The Traitors, and it sees famous faces take part in the ultimate test of deceit and betrayal.
Some of the celebrities taking part this series include Richard E Grant, Miranda Hart, James Blunt, Maya Jama, James Acaster, and more as part of a stacked lineup.
A stacked lineup that Liam Gallagher would undeniably have been a very entertaining part of, but despite this, the rockstar has revealed that not only did he receive an offer to appear on the show, he actually turned it down.
@starshapedcarab I’ve been asked it’s not my thing I’m not a celebrity
Answering a fan’s comment on Twitter this week, Liam confirmed that he had received an offer but it wasn’t really his ‘thing’.
The tweet in question declared: “They should put Liam [Gallagher] on Celebrity Traitors”, to which Gallagher replied: “I’ve been asked [but] it’s not my thing.”
After offering up reason of it not being his ‘thing’ as to why he turned the show down, he then followed up with a slightly more baffling explanation too: “I’m not a celebrity,” he concluded.
We can only assume the denial of celebrity status is due to the fact that Liam doesn’t like the word, and not because he doesn’t consider himself to be famous, as coming off the back of the globally successful Oasis Live ’25 tour and ahead of the upcoming Oasis Live ’27, the band arguably couldn’t be more of a household name.
Many of the comments in response to Liam’s declaration point out that he could be a contestant on the normal BBC series instead, if he doesn’t consider himself a ‘celebrity’. Others also made sure to note that he appeared on an episode of Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox, so he didn’t appear to have an issue with the word then.
So, will LG ever change his mind then? Only time will tell.
Featured Image – BBC & Joshua Halling
TV & Showbiz
Greg Davies and Alex Horne to host Taskmaster live on stage in Manchester
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Think you’ve got what it takes to impress the Taskmaster?
Global comedy gameshow sensation, Taskmaster, is set to bring its multi award-winning chaos to Manchester next year, as its first (and only) UK performance ever. Aren’t we lucky?
Following the show‘s roaring success in the USA earlier this year, Taskmaster Live On Stage is set to return in 2027, for two shows only – one taking over our very-own AO Arena, and the other being held at the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Audiences can expect a high-energy and hilarious show from the one and only Taskmaster, Greg Davies, and his trusty sidekick Alex Horne, joined by some very special celebrity guests as live contestants.
To give you a flavour of what’s to come, Taskmaster Live On Stage was previously joined by comedians such as Jason Manztoukas, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, and Lisa Gilroy, so we can expect a similar star-studded special guestlist next year.
Alongside three celebrities, the remaining live contestant places will be available to two lucky audience members, who will have a chance to impress the Taskmaster.
Don’t worry if you’re not selected though, as there’ll also be brand-new special stage tasks for the entire audience to get involved with, and the Taskmaster will then judge the efforts of these brave souls to crown one as the Mancunian Taskmaster Live On Stage Champion – quite the mouthful, we know.
“I am thrilled that my tiny assistant and I are to bring Taskmaster to such illustrious venues,” commented Taskmaster Greg Davies.
“Whilst on one hand it feels daunting, on the other it feels like destiny. Rest assured my judgements will remain even handed and every effort will be made for everyone to have a good time, except Alex.”
Taskmaster Live On Stage will be coming to Manchester’s AO Arena next May.
Pre-sale tickets will be exclusively offered to the Taskmaster mailing list on 14 October, while general sale tickets will be released on Friday 16 October, and you can sign up to the mailing list for pre-sale access HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
25th February 2022 
