Around 3.3 million people tuned in to watch cult crime drama Peaky Blinders come to a violent finale in a special extended episode.
The show, set in industrial Birmingham between the wars, follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family as their empire grows and takes in clashes with rival gangs, the police, the IRA, and the British Union of Fascists.
It is inspired by a real-life street gang thought to have got their name from their habit of stitching razor blades into the peaks of their caps and features Cillian Murphy as head of the family Tommy, as well as Anya Taylor-Joy, Tom Hardy, and the late Helen McCrory who played the family’s matriarch Polly until her death from cancer last April.
It has been a substantial cult hit with fans organizing conventions where they dress like their heroes and even a chain of themed pubs inspired by the show’s sense of style.
Creator Steven Knight, who also developed the hit quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, has said he plans to continue the story in a film version and is also working on a dance show inspired by it.
South London-based Rambert dance company are working on the stage production which is set to have almost a month-long run in London later this year.
Knight said: “I don’t see it (the last series) as the end of the (Peaky Blinders) world because I see it as the end of the beginning.
“Peaky – in this incarnation – comes to an end, but we’re doing a film which will also carry on the family and the stories into the Second World War.
“Beyond that, you know there’s so much energy out there in the world for Peaky and so many people who have such a strong affection for it.
“We want it to carry on as long as the energy is there.”