BBC ‘to launch’ Peaky Blinders spin-off documentary

A documentary looking at the real-life gangsters who inspired Peaky Blinders is reportedly set to air later this month.

The sixth and final series of the hit BBC One drama will hit TV screens at the end of the month, with the release date now confirmed as 27 February.

According to The Sun, the final series will coincide with a BBC Two documentary on the real-life gang which inspired the show’s Birmingham-born creator Steven knight.

The show has always offered a blend of fact and fiction.

Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby has met Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill, and series 5 saw him in conflict with fascist politician Oswald Mosely (Sam Claflin) – historical figures are as much a part of Peaky Blinders as those drawn from Mr Knight’s imagination.

However, Knight was inspired by a number of stories about real Birmingham gangs, which were first relayed to him as family legend, and he has even revealed that his dad’s uncle was part of the real Peaky Blinders gang.

What’s been said about the spin-off show?

The two-part documentary, reportedly named the Real Peaky Blinders, will look at the ‘tribal warfare that characterised Victorian Birmingham in the late 1800s’.

A source told The Sun: said: “This will be a treat for devotees of the drama, some of whom may not have been aware that it was based on a true story.

“Though the gangs which inspired the Shelby clan are different in many ways, the similarities are fascinating and in many cases quite shocking.

“The documentary is a fitting way to help mark the end of the Peaky Blinders TV phenomenon which has hooked viewers for the past nine years.”

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