By Abby Robinson

Published: Monday, 21 March 2022 at 12:00 am


Fans of Peaky Blinders will be thrilled to hear that the sixth and final season will be going out in a blaze of glory, with the final ever episode of the BBC drama confirmed to be feature-length.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com, director Anthony Byrne revealed that the finale runtime is 81 minutes, adding: “We were like f**k the 10 o’clock news. It’s such a Peaky thing to do for the last hurrah. It’s the 10:22 news for one night only.”

He added: “It feels very, very different to the rest of the season. It feels very, very different to anything we’ve done before. It’s very epic in scope. It feels like a film – it’s a kind of dry run for the feature film.”

Chatting previously to RadioTimes.com, show creator Steven Knight said that the upcoming movie will be an “untold story that happened in the Second World War, which the Peakys are going to be involved in”.

Knight told RadioTimes.com that the story “offers up all sorts of possibilities for some incredible cast”, and he confirmed to Digital Spy that both Tommy and his brother Arthur will be involved, which suggests that the earth-shattering news Tommy received in episode four might not be as damning as we’ve been led to believe.

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During his conversation with RadioTimes.com, Byrne also defended the direction that Peaky Blinders has taken in season 6 following criticism from some viewers that it lacks the punchiness of previous chapters.

“Season 6 is a character piece about the darkness of Tommy Shelby’s soul and it’s how far down is he going to have to go before he can get out,” the director explained. “And will there be any left of him? That’s what it is for me. And audiences who love the character will go with it because they’re on a journey with this guy, with Tommy Shelby.

“There’s always going to be an element of people who want just the same stuff, but we’re not in it for that because it has to evolve, and it has to change. And it has to challenge the audience’s expectations and take you on a far deeper experience than you’re expecting to go.”

Peaky Blinders continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 27th March.

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