Saturday Magazine - 24.08.2019

Words by: Jennifer Rodger

‘Tommy is

extremely

intelligent,

but he has a

death wish’

The rule

of the mob

Cillian Murphy’s gangster Tommy Shelby is now an MP

J

ust like in real-life, the
Houses of Parliament are
about to be shaken by
the arrival of a politician
with the gift of the gab.
Tommy Shelby has taken the
razor blade out of his peaked cap – we think

• and gone legit. In the fifth series of the
  Brummie gangster saga it’s October 1929,
  and Tommy is a Labour MP. It’s a big step
  forward in power and influence, and the
  chance for him to whitewash his criminal
  past. Or as Tommy ominously puts it: ‘I know
  I’m not God. Not yet...’
  ‘This series has that
  wonderful contradiction of him

being a Member of Parliament and

also being the head of a criminal

gang,’ says Cillian Murphy, who

has played the role for eight years.

Yes, it’s dirty business as usual

but worth even more, with more

powerful players – and bigger risks.

We find the Shelby family duties have been

split in two. Tommy and sister Ada (Sophie

Rundle) are down in London. Back home,

brother Arthur (Paul Anderson) is keeping up

the rough work at Shelby Co. Ltd.

Meanwhile, Aunt Polly (Helen McCrory) is

gambling in Monte Carlo with a young pilot.

But this neat set up for the Shelby family is

about to explode. First, they will lose their

fortune in the Wall Street crash,

thanks to Polly’s bumbling son

Michael not taking the orders to

sell from Tommy.

The gang also make an

enemy of a shady gang from

China Town called Angels of

Retribution. And to top it all,

Oswald Mosley, a fictitious

version of the fascist firebrand

played by Sam Claflin, wants a

political alliance with Tommy.

‘Tommy has to employ a whole new set of

tools to battle with an ideology as opposed to

battling with physical threat,’ explains Cillian.

‘The mafia in series four was a pretty

conventional threat but a dangerous one,

whereas Mosley is a whole other level.’

We also find the gangster is taking dope

and hallucinates romantic scenes with his

dead ex-wife, Grace (Annabelle Wallis).

Helen McCrory says Aunt Pol will really

need to watch Tommy. ‘He is extremely

intelligent, but he has a death wish,’ she warns.

Will the (dis)honourable MP Shelby come

out of this series alive?

PEAKY BLINDERS

BBC1 Sun 9pm

& Mon 9.30pm NEW

Law unto

himself...

Tommy Shelby

makes a speech

Shady

Aunt Polly

Helen

McCrory

Sister Ada and

brother Arthur

SATURDAY MAGAZINE 11

TV FEATURE