Late star Helen McCrory won't appear in Peaky Blinders season 6

21 January 2022

Helen McCrory won't appear in season six of 'Peaky Blinders'.

Late star Helen McCrory won't appear in the sixth season of Peaky Blinders

The BBC period drama is set to return for its delayed sixth series, but the late actress - who died aged 52 in April after a battle with cancer - won't be appearing as she didn't shoot scenes as Polly Gray when filming resumed in January 2021.

A spokeswoman told The Sun newspaper's TV Biz column: "Helen did not film with us in series six but Polly is an ever-present part of the show.

“She is forever the matriarch of the Shelby family and her presence is always felt by Tommy and the rest of the family. Her influence is an integral part of the season.”

It's said Helen's character Polly - whom she played from the first season in 2013 - was meant to have a bigger role in the story of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and his gang.

Production on the sixth season of the drama was halted back in March 2020 after Helen and Cillian told bosses they weren't "comfortable" on set during the pandemic.

The following month, she explained: "The next morning I woke and told my producer I'm not comfortable doing this anymore ... Cillian Murphy did the same.

"Together with the producers, we approached the BBC and said we're going to pull this now before we have to do this down the line."

Following Helen's death, 'Peaky Blinders' creator Steven Knight praised the actress for her glowing personality.

He said: "I based the character of Aunt Polly on real working-class women I had grown up with: fierce, scary, protective of their own, funny and always aware of the absurdities of life.

“Helen was the perfect person to bring this amalgam of women to the screen in one stunningly vivid portrayal.

“Away from the business, she filled rooms and lit up places with her personality, and I can say now that her work on this planet had only just begun.

“The ‘Peaky Blinders’ audience is very selective, very particular, and to be taken to their hearts is a real achievement. People can spot the real thing, and that is what Helen was. On screen, that is what Helen McCrory is.”