Peaky Blinders Season 6: release date, cast, what to expect – and will the next series be the final season?

Production on the sixth series of BBC One’s Peaky Blinders has now resumed with coronavirus protocols in place and within Government guidelines.

Creator and writer Steven Knight announced the news in a statement in January, saying: “Peaky is back and with a bang. After the enforced production delay due to the Covid pandemic, we find the family in extreme jeopardy and the stakes have never been higher.”

Announcing the news, the official Instagram account for the show shared a photo of Murphy on set wearing a patterned face mask.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What will happen in Season 6?

Created and written by Steven Knight, the sixth season of Peaky Blinders – once again starring Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson and Helen McCrory – will be set in the 1920s and see the family try to smuggle alcohol into the US during Prohibition.

It will conclude the saga of the troubled Tommy Shelby and his family’s rise to power against the backdrop of industrial Birmingham.

Series five, which introduced Sam Claflin as the leader of the British Union of Fascists Oswald Mosley, ended with a cliffhanger and the Shelby family betrayed by their allies.

"We believe this will be the best series of all and are sure that our amazing fans will love it,” said Knight.

How is it being filmed during a pandemic?

Originally, the team had planned to film the next instalment of the hit BBC show, in Spring 2020, but production was halted due to the pandemic.

The remainder of Season 6’s production is taking place under strict coronavirus restrictions, which the team has said are being closely adhered to to maintain the safety of the cast and crew.

Executive producer Caryn Mandabach said: “We have been working diligently to ensure we can get Peaky safely back into production; the safety of our cast and crew is always our priority."

Filming is taking place on closed sets due to lockdown restrictions, and fans are being urged by the show’s producers to stay away from shoots.

A spokesman for the show said: “We’ve gone to extensive lengths in line with the applicable government and regional guidelines to make the production safe for cast, crew and the communities that surround our filming locations and in order to continue to do this, we kindly ask that members of the public please stay away from our closed sets to allow us create the series in a safe and secure way for everyone involved.”

One location that people are being encouraged to attend – with an appointment, is the The Black Country Living Museum, the backdrop for numerous scenes from the hit TV drama.

The museum opened its doors as a coronavirus vaccination centre at the end of January, with conference and exhibition space at the site is being used to provide reception, waiting and vaccination areas at the museum in Dudley.

Will Season 6 be the last series of Peaky Blinders?

Peaky Blinders will end after its upcoming sixth series, it has been confirmed, but Knight said the story would continue in “another form”.

“While the TV series will be coming to an end,” he said, “the story will continue in another form.”

The Peaky Blinders’ creator has since said the hit drama will be turned into a movie, saying his “plan from the beginning was to end Peaky with a movie.”

Executive producer for the BBC Tommy Bulfin said: “Steve’s scripts for series six are truly remarkable and provide a fitting send-off which we are sure will delight fans.”

When will Season 6 be released?

Director Anthony Byrne – who is returning having directed series five – has said he hopes to release the next highly anticipated series about the Shelby family in 2022.