What time is Peaky Blinders on TV?

Aunt Polly is played by Helen McCrory

Arthur Shelby Paul Anderson

Ada Shelby is played by Sophie Rundle

Michael Gray is played by Finn Cole

You can find out more information about the cast and characters here.

Who were the real Peaky Blinders?

Yes, the Peaky Blinders – so called for the razor blades they kept in the brims of their sinister-looking caps and hats – were real people. Tommy Shelby may have been a work of fiction, but the Blinders were just as dark and violent. You can find out about the extraordinary story of Birmingham’s very own Sopranos here.

What’s going to happen in the next episode?

Someone should have had a quiet word with Adrien Brody and told him to get rid of the matchstick he uses as a prop in almost every scene. His portrayal of languid New York Mafioso Luca Changretta is enjoyably ripe and nasty but the matchstick between his teeth almost tips it over into cliché. He doesn’t quite say “Fuhgeddaboudit” at any point, but you wouldn’t be surprised.

No matter. Writer Steven Knight and his cast have cooked up another wickedly enjoyable brew of violence, betrayal and seduction in unlikely places. To start with, Tommy takes on Luca and his hoods with the help of a whopping great machine gun. Then Lizzie breaks her news, Ada gets arrested by the Army and Polly shares a rather magical woodland scene with an unexpected suitor.

For light relief there’s another hilarious helping of Alfie Solomons (Tom Hardy). Nobody can taunt a fellow hard man quite like him.

Review by David Butcher