Construction has begun in Manchester to prepare the set for the sixth season of Peaky Blinders, new pictures revealed on Friday.
The cast are currently hard at work filming in snowy Scotland, but they are shortly set to return to the city for new scenes and crew are busy transforming its historic Castlefield district into Birmingham ahead of their arrival.
Wooden scaffolds have been built underneath a Victorian railway bridge, seemingly to mimic a work station for builders in the period, while a variety of vintage signs have been spotted around the district.
Exciting! Peaky Blinders’ crew began constructing show’s set in Manchester to transform its historic district into Birmingham on Friday, ahead of sixth season shoot in the city
One such sign is for Bingley Hall, a purpose-built exhibition hall that was later used by a railway company to help build tunnels for the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway.
A plaque for the Birmingham Snow Hill railway station was also seen leaning against a building, while signs asking for scrap metals and advertising a heavy weight boxing match were also visible.
Store fronts have also started to be set up in the district, with one painted in black, while it currently stands empty it is evident a number of shops are going to be built for the shoot.
In one area, three wooden platforms stand with parts of the set covered in plastic sheets to ensure they are not seen and don’t get damaged before the cast and crew arrive.
Vintage: One such sign is for Bingley Hall, a purpose-built exhibition hall that was later used by a railway company to help build tunnels for the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway, and another for Birmingham Snow Hill station
Intriguing: In one area, three wooden platforms stand with parts of the set covered in plastic sheets to ensure they are not seen and don’t get damaged before the cast and crew arrive
Peaky Blinders centres around its eponymous gang run by the ruthless Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and his family as their power and influence extends over Birmingham and beyond.
The fifth season ended on a cliffhanger, with Tommy seeing visions of his late wife Grace and turning a gun on himself following his botched assassination attempt of British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosely (Sam Claflin) at a rally.
The BBC drama has been running for eight years and has enjoyed huge popularity but the sixth season has been confirmed as the final one, with creator Steven Knight confirming the story will return ‘in another form’.
Steven believes the programme can be extended, possibly as a feature length spin-off, as he said in a statement: ‘Peaky is back and with a bang. After the enforced production delay due to the Covid pandemic, we find the family in extreme jeopardy and the stakes have never been higher.
‘We believe this will be the best series of all and are sure that our amazing fans will love it. While the TV series will be coming to an end, the story will continue in another form.’
It was confirmed last month that Tommy Shelby and his gang would return by sharing an image of lead actor Murphy getting the character’s signature skin fade from a production stylist.
Speaking to LADbible at the Peaky Blinders Festival in Birmingham in 2019, Steven said of his hopes for the show: ‘I would [consider doing a film].
‘The end scene is the end of this as a television series the way it is now, but it’s certainly not ruling out spin offs or a movie.
‘So I think there’s something about Peaky where it’s a world, lots of people have different interpretations of that world, so I’m all for keeping the spirit going.’
Director Anthony Byrne, who previously worked on series five and will contribute to the sixth, also insisted the show could work as a big-screen theatrical production.
He said: ‘I think a film 100 percent could work, but I’d rather watch six hours than two. Simple as that. You can go deeper into characters and spend more time in their world I think.’
In a statement, Knight said: ‘Peaky is back and with a bang. After the enforced production delay due to the Covid pandemic, we find the family in extreme jeopardy and the stakes have never been higher.
‘We believe this will be the best series of all and are sure that our amazing fans will love it. While the TV series will be coming to an end, the story will continue in another form.’
Meanwhile, Executive Producer for the BBC Tommy Bulfin said of the show: ‘We are very excited that filming for Peaky Blinders has begun and so grateful to everyone for all their hard work to make it happen.
‘Steve’s scripts for series six are truly remarkable and provide a fitting send-off which we are sure will delight fans.’