115 Fun Facts About Peaky Blinders

The fifth series of Peaky Blinders opens on 29 October 1929, a date better known as what?

Black Tuesday's Wall Street crash wipes out the Shelby fortune that Michael was managing in America, because he had held on to the shares despite Tommy's order to sell.

Which actor played John Shelby in the first four series of Peaky Blinders?

Joe Cole played John Shelby from 2013 to 2017; he also told his younger brother Finn about a part in series 2, and the real-life brothers ended up on screen as cousins.

The second series of Peaky Blinders builds to a showdown at which racecourse near London?

Epsom on Derby Day, 31 May 1922, is where Tommy must shoot a field marshal on Major Campbell's orders while his men burn the licences of a rival's bookmakers.

In Peaky Blinders, which Birmingham pub do the Shelbys own and use as their base?

The Garrison is the Shelbys' local and unofficial headquarters; it is bombed at the start of series 2 while the family is at a funeral, then rebuilt and reopened.

Series 4 of Peaky Blinders opens with Polly, Arthur, John and Michael moments away from which fate?

Hanging is seconds away when the reprieve Tommy has bargained for reaches the gallows; the scare leaves the family scattered and estranged from him a year later.

Which rival do Tommy Shelby and the Peaky Blinders set out to topple in the first series?

Billy Kimber learns that Tommy means to double-cross him and marches his men into the Shelbys' own street, where Tommy shoots him dead.

An 1890 Birmingham Mail report of "a murderous outrage" places the real gang's origins in which district?

The March 1890 Birmingham Mail report on the assault of George Eastwood called the attackers the 'Small Heath Peaky Blinders', the earliest known appearance of the name in print.

What is the name of Ada Shelby's first husband?

Freddie Thorne, played by Iddo Goldberg, fought alongside Tommy in the war and dies of 'pestilence', presumably Spanish flu, between the first and second series.

What military rank did Thomas Shelby hold during World War I?

Sergeant Major Tommy Shelby dug tunnels under enemy lines in France and was decorated for gallantry; the show implies he came home with what is now called PTSD.

In Peaky Blinders series 2, how does a badly beaten Tommy reach London after leaving hospital?

By barge: Tommy discharges himself early and takes a slow boat south to seek an alliance with a London gang boss against the rival whose men put him in hospital.

Tommy's first wife is shot dead at a charity dinner while wearing what cursed gift from him?

The sapphire, which a Russian émigrée had warned Tommy was cursed, hangs at his wife's neck when the gunman shouts 'For Angel!' and fires.

What iconic item of clothing is most famously associated with the Peaky Blinders gang?

Flat caps with razor blades sewn into the peaks is the popular story, but one historian of the gang doubts it: such blades were then a costly luxury, and a soft cap would make a poor weapon.

Which actor plays fascist politician Sir Oswald Mosley in Peaky Blinders?

Sam Claflin, the Hunger Games star, joined in series 5; his Mosley pressures Tommy into the new fascist party, which Tommy enters only to undermine it from inside.

The distillery-running Camden Town gang leader of series 2 heads a gang from which community?

The Camden Town boss leads a Jewish gang whose bakery is a front for a rum distillery; Tommy first courts him in series 2 as a counterweight to the Italian gangs of London.

What is Michael Gray's relationship to Polly Gray?

Michael is Polly's son, taken from her as a small child and raised by a foster family; Tommy brings him back into the fold, and in the final episode Tommy shoots him dead.

In series 2 of Peaky Blinders, a war-haunted Arthur Shelby starts using which drug?

Cocaine takes hold of Arthur in series 2 as his war flashbacks worsen, until Tommy has to order him to straighten up; by series 4 it is Michael who is using it to keep working.

Which political thinker is Ada Shelby's son named after?

Karl Marx gives Ada's son his name: Karl is born midway through series 1, on the night her brother John marries, and his revolutionary father is arrested when he comes to see the baby.

Inspector Campbell's missing guns in Peaky Blinders series 1 were bound for which country?

Libya was the destination of the crates Tommy's men lift from the Birmingham Small Arms factory, and the missing guns drive the whole first series.

Which rock star, a devoted fan, was sent Tommy Shelby's cap and let Peaky Blinders use his final album's music?

David Bowie was sent the cap Cillian Murphy wore in series 1 and replied with a photo of himself in it; his team cleared Blackstar for the show shortly before he died, and 'Lazarus' plays in series 3.

Which streaming service acquired exclusive US distribution rights to Peaky Blinders in September 2014?

Netflix took the US rights on from the Weinstein Company, whose name stayed on the credits until 2017, when it was removed after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke.

Tommy Shelby's hairstyle, which Peaky Blinders helped bring back into fashion, is known as what?

Undercut hair is shaved at the sides and left long on top; the look has unglamorous roots, since in Tommy's day many men had the sides cropped close for hygiene, to keep lice at bay.

Which Peaky Blinders actress played Polly Gray and died in April 2021?

Helen McCrory played Polly in the first five series but was too ill to film the sixth and died of cancer on 16 April 2021; its opening episode stages Polly's funeral and is dedicated to McCrory's memory.

Which actor portrays Arthur Shelby Jr.?

Paul Anderson's Arthur comes home from the war with a rage he cannot control: in series 2 a flashback in the boxing ring ends with him beating a boy to death, which haunts him for years.

John Shelby's arranged marriage, sealing a truce with a rival family, is to which character?

Esme Lee marries John to seal peace between the families; after he is killed in series 4 she takes their children and leaves, and in series 6 she returns to lead Tommy to a son he never knew.

From which city does Chief Inspector Chester Campbell originally come?

Campbell comes from Belfast, where as an Ulster Protestant policeman he made his name hunting republicans; the government sends him to Birmingham to recover the stolen guns.

Which acclaimed actor portrays the volatile Camden Town gang leader introduced in series 2?

Tom Hardy's Camden Town gang boss is apparently shot dead by Tommy on a beach at the end of series 4, yet the character turns up alive in series 5 and Hardy stayed to the end.

What was Tommy's future first wife secretly doing when she took a job pulling pints for the Shelbys?

Working as an undercover agent for Inspector Campbell, who had known her late father, she was sent to get close to Tommy and find the missing guns; she later shot Campbell herself.

What was the primary criminal enterprise of the Shelbys' first major rival in series 1?

The rival's empire was racecourse betting: he controlled the bookmaking pitches at legal racecourses outside London and had police on his payroll, the very business Tommy wanted to take.

Which of Tommy's relatives is cast out in the final episode of Peaky Blinders for refusing to shoot an informer?

Finn had let slip a family plot to the same man in series 5; when he will not pull the trigger in the finale, Tommy's newly found son does it and banishes him.

The Shelbys' home street in Peaky Blinders was filmed on a terraced street in which port city?

Liverpool's Powis Street, in Toxteth, played the Shelbys' street for years, until work to refurbish its derelict terraces forced the film crews out in 2017.

What was Aberama Gold's trade when he was introduced to the Shelby family?

Aberama Gold arrives in series 4 as a hitman-for-hire, and his price for taking on the Changrettas includes Tommy turning his son Bonnie into a professional boxer.

Which Peaky Blinder's execution does Tommy fake in series 1 so he can hide in London?

Danny Whizz-Bang, a shell-shocked comrade who killed an Italian in a fit, is 'executed' by Tommy in a staged shooting and secretly sent to London; he returns and dies in the series 1 finale.

When the final series of Peaky Blinders jumps to 1933, which lifelong habit has Tommy Shelby given up?

Drinking alcohol is behind him: after Polly's death Tommy is sober through the four-year jump to 1933 and tells his American contacts he no longer touches whisky, even as Arthur's addiction spirals.

The sixth series opens on 5 December 1933, the day of which event in the United States?

The repeal of Prohibition on 5 December 1933 ends the bootleggers' boom, so Tommy crosses the Atlantic to offer a Boston gang a new cargo instead: opium.

The real Peaky Blinders gang first emerged in Birmingham during the reign of which British monarch?

Queen Victoria was on the throne when the gang emerged around 1890, and its grip was already loosening in the early 1900s, long before 1919, when the show's Shelbys are only getting started.

In Peaky Blinders series 1, which long-absent relative swindles Arthur?

His father walks back in a decade after deserting the family; Tommy wants nothing to do with him, but Arthur believes he has changed and hands over a large sum, which the old man runs off with.

Into what political role does Thomas Shelby transition in the later series of Peaky Blinders?

Member of Parliament is Tommy's price: he passes what he learns from a union organiser to the Crown, and in return is put up as Labour's candidate for Birmingham South, a seat he wins.

Which real American gangster's outfit does Tommy deal with in series 4 to turn Changretta's men?

Al Capone's Chicago outfit takes over Changretta's New York business in a deal Tommy brokers, so Luca's own men stand down; Arthur, whose death Tommy had faked, then shoots Changretta.

Which two Northern Irish actors helped Sam Neill recover his accent for Peaky Blinders?

Sam Neill, born in Omagh and raised in New Zealand, said his friends James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson helped him find the accent again, which he then had to tone down for American viewers.

Who is the first woman Thomas Shelby marries in Peaky Blinders?

Grace Burgess becomes Tommy's wife and the mother of his son Charles, but is soon killed; Lizzie Stark becomes his second wife by series 5.

Which London gang leader is Tommy Shelby's on-off ally, betraying him more than once?

Alfie Solomons sides with Tommy against the Italians in series 2, then turns on him and has Arthur jailed; he sells Tommy out again in series 3 and 4, yet Tommy keeps coming back.

In series 2 the Shelby brothers announce their arrival in London by starting a fight in whose club?

Darby Sabini retaliates by having Ada attacked and Tommy beaten, and Campbell has to step in to stop his men finishing Tommy off.

What is the profession of May Carleton, a woman who develops a relationship with Tommy?

May Carleton is a horse trainer, a wealthy widow who takes on Tommy's racehorse in series 2; Charlotte Riley plays her, and Tommy keeps her dangling even after his old flame returns.

On which Birmingham street do the Shelbys live and run their betting shop in series 1 of Peaky Blinders?

Watery Lane is home and betting shop in one; after a police crackdown, Tommy has pictures of the King burned on a bonfire in the street and tips off a reporter, to embarrass Campbell.

Which prominent historical figure sends Inspector Campbell to Birmingham at the start of Peaky Blinders?

Winston Churchill sends Campbell to Birmingham to recover a stolen consignment of army guns; in series 2 he decides Tommy is worth more alive and has one of his own men spare him from execution.

Which actor portrays Aberama Gold?

Aidan Gillen, best known as Littlefinger in Game of Thrones, plays the head of a Romani family who becomes engaged to Polly in series 5, only to be killed before they can marry.

What does Tommy Shelby discard into a canal upon his return from World War I?

Tommy threw his military medals into the cut, Birmingham's canal, a gesture recalled in series 1 that sets up his contempt for the war he came home from.

The fourth series ends in the aftermath of which national event of May 1926?

The General Strike of May 1926 gives Tommy his opening: he romances union organiser Jessie Eden to learn the names of her political contacts, then trades them to the Crown.

Which ideology does Ada Shelby's first husband, Tommy's wartime comrade, follow?

Communism makes him a marked man: he agitates among the factory workers, so Inspector Campbell's crackdown on the city's radicals forces him to flee Birmingham.

A 2013 Guardian preview billed Peaky Blinders as "Britain's answer to" which American gangster drama?

Boardwalk Empire invited the comparison: both shows are set in gangland just after the First World War and both feature a soldier who came home embittered by it.

Which channel aired the fifth and sixth series of Peaky Blinders?

BBC One took over from series 5 because, in BBC content chief Charlotte Moore's words, the hit had earned a move 'to the UK's biggest channel' and a broader audience.

Which two heritages do the Shelbys of Peaky Blinders combine?

Irish Traveller and Romani heritage shapes the plot from the start: Tommy ends an early feud with a rival Romani clan by marrying his brother into it.

Series one concludes on 3 December 1919, a date the gang calls what?

Black Star Day is Tommy's name for the day the gang will move against its great rival; the rival is tipped off and brings the fight to the Shelbys' own street instead.

Series 3 of Peaky Blinders opens with which Shelby family occasion?

A wedding, Tommy's own, brings in his bride's family of cavalrymen; he orders his men to behave, then steps outside for secret talks with a Russian refugee.

Which Russian aristocrat has an affair with Tommy in series three?

Princess Tatiana Petrovna, played by Gaite Jansen, turns out to be double-crossing her own family: she is in on Tommy's raid on their jewels and leaves for Vienna with her share.

Which actor plays Father John Hughes, the priest who has Tommy's young son kidnapped in series 3?

Paddy Considine plays Father John Hughes, the priest fronting for the secretive Economic League; it is Michael, whom Hughes abused as a child, who kills him in the series 3 finale.

In Peaky Blinders series three, who painted Polly's portrait and became her lover?

Ruben Oliver, played by Alexander Siddig, pursues Polly while he paints her; when Tommy's young son is kidnapped, Tommy convinces her the painter betrayed them, though he insists he is innocent.

In series 4 of Peaky Blinders, Luca Changretta's gunmen first strike the Shelbys on which day?

Christmas Day brings the ambush that kills John outside his home; the Black Hand letters had only just arrived, and the family had planned to regroup on Boxing Day.

Whose murder is Luca Changretta avenging in series four?

His father Vicente's murder brings Luca Changretta over from New York: Vicente was shot in series 3 after the Shelbys seized him, and the vendetta drives series 4.

Which horse expert works as Charlie Strong's assistant at his yard?

Curly, played by Ian Peck, is Charlie Strong's assistant and the family's horse expert; he appears in all six series and comes back for the 2026 film The Immortal Man.

Series five ends in December 1929, the morning after what event?

A Mosley rally is where Tommy means to have the fascist leader shot, but his gunmen are killed before they can fire, and the series ends the next morning with Tommy broken.

Which Glaswegian Protestant gang does Jimmy McCavern lead in series five?

The Billy Boys were a real Protestant razor gang from Glasgow's Bridgeton, named for King Billy, William of Orange; in the show Jimmy McCavern leads them into an alliance with Mosley.

Which Chinese criminal leader involved in opium smuggling appears in series five?

Brilliant Chang, played by Andrew Koji, is the Chinatown opium smuggler who brings Tommy a huge shipment in series 5; he is named for a real 1920s London drug dealer.

Barney Thomason, Tommy's old comrade freed from an asylum in series five, had what wartime role?

Sniper: Tommy breaks Barney out of the asylum because he was a crack shot in the war, meaning to use him against Mosley, but Barney is killed before he can fire.

Which actor plays Colonel Younger, the army officer who begins a relationship with Ada?

Kingsley Ben-Adir plays Colonel Younger, who is killed by a car bomb in series 5 before he learns that Ada is pregnant with his child.

Which real historical figure is Jack Nelson, the south Boston gang leader of series six, based on?

Joseph Kennedy Sr., father of John F. Kennedy, inspired Jack Nelson, Gina's Boston uncle; the real Kennedy was likewise an Irish-American businessman close to President Roosevelt.

Which Mitford sister, Mosley's second wife, appears in series six?

Diana Mitford, played by Amber Anderson, appears in series 6 as Mosley's mistress and future second wife; the real pair married in 1936 at Goebbels' Berlin home.

In Peaky Blinders series six, the IRA leader Laura McKee goes by which alias?

Captain Swing is the name Laura McKee uses when she phones Tommy as series 6 opens to say her IRA operatives wrecked his assassination plot, because they wanted his target kept alive.

Which union convenor at the Liverpool docks does Stephen Graham play in series six?

Hayden Stagg, played by Stephen Graham, is the Liverpool docks union man caught skimming the Shelbys' opium in series 6; Graham returns as Stagg in the 2026 film The Immortal Man.

What is the name of Tommy's first-born son, revealed in series six?

Duke, born Erasmus, is the son Tommy fathered with a girl called Zelda in 1914, shortly before he left for the war; Tommy only learns of him in series 6.

Which ex-footballer turned singer runs the gang's fixed football racket?

Billy Grade, played by Emmett J. Scanlan, runs the football fix but informs on the family, and he is shot dead for it in the series 6 finale.

Where does Tommy travel in 1933 to meet Michael and Jack Nelson's associates?

Miquelon Island, a French territory off Newfoundland, is where Tommy offers Michael's Boston contacts a route for shipping opium into North America, and the talks collapse.

Doctor Holford tells Tommy he has what inoperable condition in series six?

Tuberculoma: Holford says the growth in Tommy's brain stem leaves him a year to 18 months, and the finale exposes the diagnosis as a fascist ruse.

Which Shelby sibling is the eldest?

Arthur is the eldest Shelby sibling and bears his father's name as Arthur Shelby Jr., yet it is his younger brother Tommy who leads the family.

The 2026 film The Immortal Man finds Tommy hiding away in his mansion during which event?

The Blitz is the backdrop: the film picks up six years after the series, in 1940, with bombs falling on Birmingham while Tommy shuts himself away to write his memoirs.

Which regional funding body's money meant most of Peaky Blinders was filmed outside Birmingham?

Screen Yorkshire backed the show through its Yorkshire Content Fund on condition that most of it was filmed in the county, which is why a Birmingham story was shot largely in the north.

Which open-air museum doubled as Charlie Strong's canal-side yard?

The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley supplied Charlie Strong's yard and many street scenes, and it now runs Peaky Blinders nights and filming-location tours for fans.

Which comedian was falsely rumoured to be playing Adolf Hitler in series six?

Rowan Atkinson was reported in 2020 to be playing Hitler in series 6, a story the producers dismissed as 'completely false'.

Which two names surged in popularity in England and Wales in 2018, a rise the ONS linked to Peaky Blinders?

Arthur and Ada were 'perhaps inspired' by the drama's characters, the ONS said: Arthur re-entered the boys' top ten for the first time since the 1920s, and Ada returned to the girls' top 100 after almost a century.

Which US rapper did Steven Knight name as 'such a fan' of Peaky Blinders?

Snoop Dogg, Knight said, was 'such a fan' that he sought out a meeting in London to talk about how the show echoed his own gang past.

What colour is the horse Tommy rides away on in the final scene of Peaky Blinders series six?

White: Tommy spares the doctor who gave him a false diagnosis, then rides away on a white horse after watching the caravan that holds his last possessions burn.

Which dance company staged The Redemption of Thomas Shelby in 2022?

Rambert's dance show The Redemption of Thomas Shelby opened at the Birmingham Hippodrome in 2022 with a story written by the television show's own creator, then toured the UK.

Who directed the 2026 film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man?

Tom Harper, who directed episodes of the very first series in 2013, came back to the Shelbys more than a decade later to direct the film The Immortal Man.

Which band's 'Red Right Hand' serves as the Peaky Blinders theme song?

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released Red Right Hand in 1994; while writing it Cave filled a whole notebook with maps and sketches of the song's town, almost none of which reached the lyrics.

The title of the theme song 'Red Right Hand' comes from which epic poem?

Paradise Lost has a fallen angel fear that God's vengeance may 'arm again his red right hand to plague us', and the songwriter took the phrase for his title.

Who switches the car bomb meant for Tommy in the final episode of Peaky Blinders?

Johnny Dogs moves the bomb that Michael had planted in Tommy's car, so when it goes off the blast kills Michael's associates in the car behind instead.

Before Peaky Blinders, 'Red Right Hand' was a recurring song in which horror film series?

Scream used the song in each of its first three films from 1996, in three versions: the original, a DJ's remix and a fresh recording made for the third film.

What does Tommy name the filly he buys at auction in series 2?

Grace's Secret is the filly Tommy buys at auction in series 2, named for the woman who left him; the purchase draws him into the world of the racing aristocracy.

What were Birmingham's street gangs called before the name Peaky Blinders caught on?

The Sloggers were named with a prize-ring word for a heavy hitter; the name peaky blinders reached print only later, in a report of a teetotaller set upon by a gang after ordering ginger beer in a pub.

Which Birmingham historian, descended from a real peaky blinder, wrote Peaky Blinders: The Real Story?

Carl Chinn's great-grandfather Edward Derrick was a peaky blinder, and far from romanticising him the book condemns him as a violent thief and wife-beater for whom Chinn has nothing but contempt.

Which silent film star's cameo in series two plays on claims that the star was born a Smethwick Gypsy?

Charlie Chaplin's cameo plays on a letter that surfaced in 2011 claiming he was born in a Gypsy caravan at Black Patch Park in Smethwick rather than in London.

What is the name of Tommy and Lizzie's daughter, whose death haunts series six?

Ruby falls ill with a fever in the first episode of series 6 and dies two episodes later while Tommy is away hunting the curse he blames for her sickness.

In which 2002 horror film does Cillian Murphy's character wake from a coma to find London deserted?

28 Days Later stars Murphy as a bicycle courier named Jim; its empty London was real, filmed in brief early-morning bursts while the streets were closed.

Cillian Murphy won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing which physicist?

J. Robert Oppenheimer, in Christopher Nolan's 2023 film, won Murphy the Oscar after years of supporting turns in Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Dunkirk.

Cillian Murphy made his professional debut in which 1996 Enda Walsh play?

Disco Pigs, Enda Walsh's 1996 two-hander, gave Murphy his professional debut as 'Pig' in Cork; he reprised the role in Kirsten Sheridan's 2001 film adaptation.

Cillian Murphy auditioned for Batman but was instead cast as which villain in Batman Begins?

Scarecrow: the lead went to Christian Bale, but Christopher Nolan was so impressed by Murphy that he gave him Dr Crane, the Scarecrow's other self, and brought him back for The Dark Knight.

Steven Knight is one of three creators of which global game show?

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was devised by Knight with David Briggs and Mike Whitehill after the three had written promotional games for Chris Tarrant's Capital FM breakfast show.

Steven Knight was best known for writing Dirty Pretty Things and which other screenplay?

Eastern Promises, David Cronenberg's 2007 thriller about London's Russian mafia, came from Knight's script and earned Viggo Mortensen an Oscar nomination as a mob driver.

Sam Neill, a villain of the first two series, was best known as Dr Alan Grant in which film franchise?

Jurassic Park brought Neill international fame as palaeontologist Alan Grant in 1993, and he came back to the part twice, the last time in Jurassic World Dominion in 2022.

What is the name of the Birmingham film studio complex founded by Steven Knight?

Digbeth Loc. is the studio complex Knight founded in inner-city Birmingham, and much of the 2026 film The Immortal Man was shot there.

Where is the Camden Town gang boss found living in series five after surviving being shot?

Margate is where Tommy tracks him down in series 5, alive after being shot on the beach there, to ask for his help with a plot against Mosley.

Sophie Rundle played Ann Walker in which BBC period drama?

Gentleman Jack cast Sophie Rundle as Ann Walker, the heiress who took the sacrament with Anne Lister in a York church in 1834 to seal a marriage the law would not recognise.

Finn Cole, who plays Michael Gray, starred as Joshua 'J' Cody in which TNT series?

Animal Kingdom, TNT's crime drama, is based on a 2010 Australian film in which J Cody was played by James Frecheville, who later joined Finn Cole in Peaky Blinders as Jack Nelson.

Joe Cole won Best Actor at the 2018 British Independent Film Awards for which film?

A Prayer Before Dawn is based on the memoir of Billy Moore, a British boxer who fought his way through a Thai prison, and the role won Cole the 2018 BIFA for Best Actor.

Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays Gina Gray in Peaky Blinders, won a Golden Globe for which miniseries?

The Queen's Gambit made her chess prodigy Beth Harmon a sensation, winning her the Golden Globe and sending sales of chess sets soaring after its release.

Luca Changretta actor Adrien Brody became the youngest Best Actor Oscar winner for which film?

The Pianist won Brody the Oscar at 29 for playing Władysław Szpilman, a role for which he shed 30 pounds; he won a second for The Brutalist in 2025.

Stephen Graham won three Emmys at the 77th ceremony for which 2025 miniseries?

Adolescence, the drama Graham co-created with Jack Thorne and shot one continuous take per episode, brought him 2025 Emmys as lead actor, writer and executive producer.

Which Reservoir Dogs star plays the villain John Beckett in the 2026 film The Immortal Man?

Tim Roth plays John Beckett, an agent who strikes a deal with the gang to flood Britain with millions in counterfeit money.

Which party did the real Oswald Mosley found in 1932?

The British Union of Fascists grew out of the wreck of Mosley's New Party, beaten in the 1931 general election; the government banned it in 1940.

Which actress, new to Peaky Blinders, joined the cast of the 2026 film The Immortal Man?

Rebecca Ferguson joined after the film's star texted actors himself to bring them on board; she plays a newcomer to the story called Kaulo.

Which dub poet played the preacher Jeremiah 'Jimmy' Jesus across all six series?

Benjamin Zephaniah, the Birmingham-raised dub poet, played the street preacher Jeremiah Jesus in every series; in 2003 he publicly turned down an OBE because the word 'empire' reminded him of slavery.

Peaky Blinders actress Annabelle Wallis previously played which of Henry VIII's wives in The Tudors?

Jane Seymour was Wallis's breakthrough role: she took over the part in series 3 of The Tudors from Anita Briem, who had played the queen-to-be before her.

Lizzie Shelby actress Natasha O'Keeffe played the Forsaken Lanfear in which Amazon fantasy series?

The Wheel of Time brings O'Keeffe in under the alias Selene before unmasking her as Lanfear, one of the Forsaken; she played the part from 2023 to 2025.

May Carleton actress Charlotte Riley met her future husband on the set of which 2009 adaptation?

Wuthering Heights, ITV's 2009 two-parter, cast Riley as Cathy opposite the Heathcliff she went on to marry in 2014.

Kate Phillips, Linda Shelby in Peaky Blinders, led which Victorian-era crime drama from 2020?

Miss Scarlet and The Duke stars Phillips as Eliza Scarlet, a Victorian private detective; when co-star Stuart Martin left, the show dropped his half of the title and carried on as Miss Scarlet.