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
BBC announces David Attenborough is returning to narrate Blue Planet III
Emily Sergeant
The BBC has announced that Sir David Attenborough will be returning to narrate Blue Planet III.
The original Blue Planet was broadcast across the globe to huge success more than 25 years ago now, and then in 2017, the follow-up Blue Planet II revolutionised our perception of life in the oceans.
But, as the BBC said, this was ‘only the beginning’, as it’s now announced that Sir David Attenborough will provide the narration for the forthcoming Blue Planet III.
This brand-new series is set to build on the groundbreaking legacy of the previous two series by ‘redefining the realm of possibility’ in underwater wildlife filmmaking.
Producers say it will reveal new and untold stories from magical underwater worlds.
Blue Planet III is coming – and Sir David Attenborough is providing narration for the new series!
“Combining our deeper understanding of the oceans with a whole new generation of camera technology including splash drones, long-term remote underwater cameras and a ‘mini dome’, we can now showcase stunning stories and extraordinary behaviours, previously impossible to film or only recently discovered,” a description for Blue Planet III on the BBC website reads.
Where Blue Planet II exposed the threats to our oceans, Blue Planet III will also explore stories of adaptation and resilience in this changing world, along with stories of hope and recovery.
Speaking ahead of the series’ release, Jack Bootle, who is the BBC’s Head of Specialist Factual Commissioning, commented: “I’m thrilled that David is taking the helm of Blue Planet once again.
“His extraordinary talent for storytelling has shaped the way generations of audiences understand and connect with the natural world, and his voice remains synonymous with the very best of the BBC’s natural history output.
“I’m absolutely delighted that he’ll be once more bringing his unique skill and authority to Blue Planet III.”
Featured Image – BBC (via YouTube)
TV & Showbiz
Release date set for Oasis reunion tour documentary by Peaky Blinders creator
Danny Jones
If you had any doubt that the upcoming Oasis reunion shows weren’t going to be heavily documented, you’re an absolute fool. However, we’ll admit we weren’t expecting to hear the creator of Peaky Blinders‘ name connected to the tourthat’s soon set to be relived in theatres.
Yeah, as in the Brummies with the flat caps on the telly – them ones.
That’s right, the same man who brought Tommy Shelby and Birmingham’s most infamous gang to our screens has been overseeing the major documentary project, which will chronicle the return of the Gallagher brothers and put the best bits on film.
Better still, now we have a full release date and know where it will be shown, including information about its cinematic and streaming rollout.
The great wait is over.
An epic new documentary film from BAFTA and Oscar-nominated writer, producer and director Steven Knight, directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, will tell the story of the Oasis reunion the world was waiting for. Featuring unprecedented on stage and… pic.twitter.com/hgR2ERlz0n
That’s right, while there still isn’t a set title for the doc (we’re pretty sure it’s a very Ronseal kind of deal), we do know it’ll be coming not just to cinemas but even IMAX theatres.
Landing on 11 September 2026, just over a year on from when the boys got back on the road and gave us one of the greatest summers ever, it will launch on Hulu and Disney+ internationally.
With additional direction from Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, the Steven Knight-produced project is arguably set to be just as big a cultural event as the Live 25′ themselves.
Knight, who was confirmed as the co-creator, writer and producer of the Oasis ‘Live ’25’ world tour documentary movie back in March, recently teased that the initial rough edit was around four hours long.
While we doubt it’ll remain so significant in length, who knows how it will compare to the likes of Supersonic or the Knebworth documentaries?
The brain behind Peaky Blinders is creating the second Oasis doc after 2016’s Supersonic. (Credit: Taylor Rooke/BBC/IMDb)
It’s worth noting to begin with that, besides the BBC’s blockbuster gangster series, which is soon to be followed up with the franchise’s first feature film on Netflix, Knight does have some background in music-related media.
The 65-year-old created the six-part BBC drama, This Town, which revolves around the rise of ska and the ‘two-tone’ revival movement in the Midlands during the 1970s; he also wrote the script for the 2024 opera biopic, Maria, starring Angelina Jolie.
Southern and Lovelace are also two of the names behind the LCD Soundsystem film, Shut Up And Play The Hits, which covers frontman James Murphy’s final gig as part of the band at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Daisy Jackson -
25th February 2022 
