Peaky Blinders fans can't quite believe those characters are really dead after series 4's shocking first episode

***SPOILER ALERT. DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN PEAKY BLINDERS SERIES FOUR EPISODE ONE***

Just when they thought their beloved boys had made it to the end of episode one in one piece, fans of Steven Knight's Peaky Blinders got a nasty shock in the last 60 seconds of the series opener when main characters John Shelby and Michael Gray were hit with a barrage of bullets.

The pair were intercepted at John's rural home by Luca Changretta's (Adrien Brody) Mafia hit squad, who wasted no time in following their orders to take out Tommy Shelby's brother and cousin.

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John's wife Esme watched on helplessly as the boys hit the ground, and so did astonished viewers.

Some fans were quite simply lost for words and left it to Thomas Shelby to do the talking for them.

They quite simply couldn't believe what had happened.

One heartbroken fan asked the BBC who they should send the bill for their therapy to.

While others, still reeling, hoped for the best.

In fact, the majority of fans appear to be doing just that. RadioTimes.com asked 2,500 fans if they thought John and Michael were really dead – and nearly 66% of them said no.

Real-life brothers Finn and Joe Cole (who play John and Michael) are keeping silent - much to the frustration of fans who've been bombarding them with "ARE YOU ALIVE THOUGH?" tweets.

And if the worst should come to pass, one enterprising fan already has a plan PB.

Either way, the wait for the next episode will be torture.