Peaky Blinders star reveals show will resume filming ‘incredible’ season 6 in January ahead of potential 2021 release
PEAKY Blinders star Emmett J. Scanlan has revealed filming for the next “incredible” series will resume in January ahead of a potential Christmas 2021 release.
The actor joined the show in season five to play Billy Grade, an ex-footballer turned singer, and an ally to the Peaky Blinders.
Speaking in an interview with The Six O'Clock Show on Virgin Media, Emmett revealed he’d not only read the script for the new series but it was set to be “incredible”.
He said: “I’ve read the whole series penned beautifully by Stephen Knight, who’s a genius. The scripts are incredible. Season six, I believe they’re looking to kick off in January.
“Maybe early January, February maybe. It was obviously delayed because of the pandemic and the lockdown and whatnot and rightly so. They’re making sure everything’s safe and then we’re going to kick off again.”
Set in Birmingham in the early 1900’s, the show won’t have to worry about addressing the pandemic but it will, most likely, have to follow social distancing guidelines when back in the studio.
Fans of the show will remember the season five finale ended with Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy, appearing to lose his mind and poised to kill himself.
His desperate behavior came after being betrayed during his failed assassination attempt on Oswald Mosley, played by Sam Claflin, who has been confirmed to return in season six.
Most of the old cast and crew are expected to return with Helen McCrory as Polly Gray, Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby, Finn Cole as Michael Gray, and Sophie Rundle as Ada Thorne.
Dubliner Anthony Byrne is coming back to direct the new episodes, teasing that there is a new female character who is set to stir things up for the family.
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He told Digital Spy: “There's a great female character who is new, who is pretty dark. I haven't seen a character like her in Peaky before... she certainly gives Tommy a run for his money.
"She challenges him in a different way basically. She's certainly not a protagonist and I don't know if she’s an antagonist. It's similar to Mosley…she has a similar ideology."
Director Anthony Byrne is the first director to return to the show to direct two different seasons, something which many fans suspect could infer season six with pick up exactly where season five ended.
He also shared a glimpse at the script for the very first episode, which is called Black Day – perhaps an ominous sign for Tommy, given the cliffhanger that season five ended on?