The Real Peaky Blinders is a BBC2 documentary that will reveal the true story behind the hit BBC1 drama Peaky Blinders, about Birmingham gangster Tommy Shelby. played by Cillian Murphy, plus his decidedly dodgy brother, family and hoodlum entourage.
The drama was an instant hit when it first aired in 2013, and is now a major success around the world and on Netflix as its currently into its sixth and final series. But fans of the show may not be aware that creator Steven Knight based his characters on stories from his own family history, and now the facts behind the fiction are examined in the BBC2's The Real Peaky Blinders. So here's everything we can tell you about what happens in the documentary...
'The Real Peaky Blinders' air date
The Real Peaky Blinders will be shown on BBC2 on Monday March 7 at 9pm. It will subsequently be available on BBCiPlayer. We'll update if there's an international or US release date, or if it arrives on Netflix to accompany the drama series shown there. Here's how to watch The Real Peaky Blinders online from anywhere.
What 'The Real Peaky Blinders' will show us
The Real Peaky Blinders features the drama creator and writer Steven Knight, for whom the characters were very close to home. "The inspiration came from my mother and father," he says. "I learned from them that the backstreets of Birmingham in the 1920s were a wild and, to my mind, wonderful place.’
The sort of criminal outfits Peaky Blinders depicts originated in Birmingham in the late 19th century and, legend has it, were named after the gang’s habit of sewing razor blades into the peaks of flat caps. However, historian Carl Chinn, who features in the programme, believes the name actually derives from the gang’s distinctive dress, which is reflected in the signature look featured in the show.
"The real Peaky Blinders were not just one 1920s gang," explains Chinn. "They were the men and youths who belonged to numerous backstreet gangs in Birmingham in the 1890s and at the turn of the 20th century."
A notorious local gangster was pint-sized Sam Sheldon, one of the main inspirations behind the show’s Shelby family "He was not someone you wanted to mess with,’ says Chinn. ‘He was involved in riots and bloody beatings. His was the worst gang in Birmingham’s history."
Gangs like the Sheldons came together in working class areas, where people lived in horrendous conditions with little hope of improving their lot. ‘"The one thing they owned was the street,’ says Chinn. ‘Territory and masculinity came together."
These violent gangs were involved in pickpocketing, crime and illegal gambling, and had some female members, who shared the well-dressed look their male counterparts loved so much. In fact, appearance was so important to Peaky Blinders gang members that they were willing to forgo basic household essentials in order to maintain their well-groomed style.
The Peaky Blinders were soon immortalized in press reports that publicized their exploits and added to their notoriety. "A lot of kudos and status hinged on reputations of toughness and fighting prowess,’ says historian Professor Andrew Davies, who also appears in the BBC2 documentary. "We could almost say some of the Peaky Blinders were the celebrities of that age."
For Steven Knight, whose parents grew up in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, the more he found out about the world they inhabited, the more fascinated he was. "All of my characters came about as a consequence of researching who was around at the time, he says. "Just discovering the truth about them, the illegal gambling and the gangsters, is so much more wild than you expect it to be."
Is there a trailer for 'The Real Peaky Blinders'?
There isn't a trailer.
