Introducing The Billy Boys From Glasgow (Slash, Slash!)

The Peaky Blinders are about to head back to Birmingham. However, it seems Tommy Shelby is in line for a big change in the coming weeks as the new Labour Party MP heads to Parliament for season five.

Season 4 of the Blinders ended after Tommy dodged Luca Changretta’s vendetta and divided his empire up amongst his enemies, as well as shooting Alfie Solomons for his betrayal (although we didn’t see Alfie die), and Shelby Company Ltd appeared to enjoy a period of peace.

Tommy was playing both sides. After Lizzie gave birth to his new child, Tommy then called in his various favours from the government to give up leading communists in order to prevent revolution while enhancing his own business prospects, and becoming the Labour MP for Birmingham.

To promote the new season, the BBCi Player is streaming every episode. Here’s a teaser:

The synopsis for the new season reads:

“Series five of Steven Knight’s crime family saga finds the world thrown into turmoil by the financial crash of 1929. Opportunity and misfortune are everywhere. When Tommy Shelby MP (Cillian Murphy) is approached by a charismatic politician with a bold vision for Britain, he realises that his response will affect not just his family’s future but that of the entire nation.”

Writer Steven Knight revealed that the plot also involves infamous Glasgow ‘razor gang’ The Billy Boys.

The Bridgeton Team ruled the streets of Glasgow’s east end

Led by Billy Fullerton (who would later form the Glaswegian branch of the British Union of Fascists), the loyalist gang would eventually clash with Roman Catholic gangs during the 1920s and 30s. Proper scumbags, the lowest of the low.

Dirty Orange Bastards

Knight told Talksport :

“We just finished shooting a week and a half ago. Series five is done. I can honestly say that it’s the best yet. It’s really good. It’s fantastic and it all fell together beautifully. Great performances and I think audiences are going to be on the edge of their seats.”

So, Is Alfie Dead, Or What?

Last season ended with Tommy taking his revenge for Alfie Soloman’s (Tom Hardy) double-crossing, and shooting him on the beach at Margate. His facial wound knocked him to the ground, but did it really kill him? Maybe Tommy left him to live, knowing that he was now powerless and without an empire – and that cancer would kill him eventually.

Responding to the question of if Alfie Solomons is really dead, Knight replied:

“Pass”

Will There Be A Season 6 And 7? How Will It All End?

We know that they’re hoping that the show will eventually end with the advent of World War Two. Rumours are that the next season will involve Shelby Company Ltd tending to their new business ventures in America.

Knight concluded:

“I want it to end with the first air raid siren in Birmingham in the Second World War, so that will be the start of the next chapter in British history. It’s that period.”

“Series seven will tell a different story, where Tommy Shelby – who begins as this nihilistic, looking-out only for his family person – will be redeemed, and he will become good. The tradition in Britain is if you do anything about working class people either they are scary or funny or it is a shame, it’s a pity … we must feel sorry for them…”

Season 5 of Peaky Blinders returns to the BBC and Netflix this Autumn.

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