The 16 all-time favourite fictional characters from Birmingham

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Published 22nd Jan 2024, 17:20 BST

Updated 23rd Jan 2024, 09:02 BST

We've taken a look at 16 of the best fictional Birmingham characters

Birmingham's impact on music, art and culture in this country can't be overstated.

There are a huge number of famous musicians and actors from Brum which is city is celebrated. Ozzy the Bull in New Street station is the latest tribute to one of the city’s biggest names - the Prince of Darkness and Black Sabbath legend, Ozzy Osbourne.

Legendary musicans such as Osbourne, Duran Duran, Electric Light Orchestra, as well as prestigious actors and writers including David Harewood, Adrian Lester and Stephen Knight all hail from the city. But who are some of the the best fictional Brummies that we've seen and read about?

Birmingham has inspired many legendary characters who have been created for TV. So we've taken a look at 13 of the very best fictional Birmingham characters

Quite probably the most famous fictional Brummie of all time, Cillian Murphy's depiction of Birmingham gangster Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders helped to create one of the BBC most successful shows ever. The drama. The character, written by Stephen Knight, is introduced as a First World War veteran from a family with Romani ancestry, whose criminal enterprise is centred in Birmingham

1. Tommy Shelby, Peaky Blinders

Quite probably the most famous fictional Brummie of all time, Cillian Murphy's depiction of Birmingham gangster Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders helped to create one of the BBC most successful shows ever. The drama. The character, written by Stephen Knight, is introduced as a First World War veteran from a family with Romani ancestry, whose criminal enterprise is centred in Birmingham | BirminghamWorld

Paul Henry played Benny Hawkins in the long-running television soap opera Crossroads that was set in Birmingham. He played the loveable handyman at the Crossroads Motel for more than 11 years.

2. Benny Hawkins, Crossroads

Paul Henry played Benny Hawkins in the long-running television soap opera Crossroads that was set in Birmingham. He played the loveable handyman at the Crossroads Motel for more than 11 years. | Popperfoto via Getty Images

Aunt Polly was brilliantly played by the late Helen McCrory in Peaky Blinders.
Polly is the mother of Michael and Anna Gray, aunt of Arthur, Thomas, John, Ada and Finn, as well as being the matriarch of the Shelby Family. She is the glue that holds the family together during many of the seasons.
Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

3. Aunt Polly, Peaky Blinders

Aunt Polly was brilliantly played by the late Helen McCrory in Peaky Blinders. Polly is the mother of Michael and Anna Gray, aunt of Arthur, Thomas, John, Ada and Finn, as well as being the matriarch of the Shelby Family. She is the glue that holds the family together during many of the seasons. Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images Photo: Jeff Spicer

Rik Mayall brilliantly played Turvey, an awkward and socially inept character who spoke with a Brummie accent in the comedy sketch show A Kick up the 80s. Turvey was a self-styled "investigative journalist" who still lived with his mother. There was also a one-off mockumentary, Kevin Turvey the Man Behind the Green Door, which was was broadcast in 1982

4. Kevin Turvey, A Kick up the 80s

Rik Mayall brilliantly played Turvey, an awkward and socially inept character who spoke with a Brummie accent in the comedy sketch show A Kick up the 80s. Turvey was a self-styled "investigative journalist" who still lived with his mother. There was also a one-off mockumentary, Kevin Turvey the Man Behind the Green Door, which was was broadcast in 1982 | Getty Images

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