All 6 Peaky Blinders stars who have died since the show ended
It's been almost five years since Helen McCrory's death
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man sees the return of Tommy Shelby and other characters – but, sadly, several stars have died since the show first aired.
Cillian Murphy’s Tommy first rode onto our screens in 2013. Six series, 36 episodes, and almost 13 years later, he will return in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, a Netflix film that finishes “this part of the Peaky story”, according to creator Steven Knight.
No spoilers, of course, but we can tell you that the movie takes place six years after the Peaky Blinders finale. That places the film firmly in the Second World War – and Tommy’s son, Duke (played by Barry Keoghan), is the all-grown-up leader of the gang he left behind.
Expect to see some familiar faces, like Ada (Sophie Rundle) and Hayden Stagg (Stephen Graham). However, ahead of the film’s release, these are the Peaky Blinders stars who’ve since died.
***Warning: spoilers for Peaky Blinders ahead***
Helen McCrory
Helen McCrory played Polly Gray, Tommy’s aunt and the bona fide matriarch of the Shelby family. The actress died in April 2021, at the age of 52, following a battle with breast cancer.
Her husband, actor Damian Lewis, shared on social media that the “beautiful and mighty” star died “peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family”.
McCrory died before filming began on the sixth series. However, rather than simply writing her out of the show, Steven Knight incorporated her death into the story – something Murphy has always praised.
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In series 6, it’s revealed that Polly was murdered as a consequence of the failed plot to kill Oswald Mosley. Her death puts Michael and Tommy on a collision course, with her son vowing to seek revenge.
“I love the way Steve has kept her memory and her character’s memory alive throughout this – particularly in series six and the film,” Murphy told LADbible.
“She was one of the greatest human beings and one of the greatest actors that I’ve ever encountered. She was a dear friend. It was a massive loss, a huge loss for everybody.”
As well as her role in Peaky Blinders, McCrory was a globally renowned talent. She played Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, as well as appearing in Skyfall, Penny Dreadful, and Quiz.
Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah appeared in all six series of Peaky Blinders, playing Jeremiah “Jimmy” Jesus, a wartime ally to Tommy who often helps the Peaky Blinders.
His character survives the events of series 6, even helping Arthur avenge Polly’s death in the finale’s gunfight against Captain Swing.
Zephaniah died in December 2023, at the age of 65. The star had been diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks before his death, according to an Instagram post.
“We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this news. Benjamin was a true pioneer and innovator, he gave the world so much. Through an amazing career including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television and radio, Benjamin leaves us with a joyful and fantastic legacy,” it read.
Zephaniah was also an acclaimed poet and writer, earning 20 honorary doctorates in his career. He was a vocal activist, advocating for animal rights and speaking against racism.
Notably, he turned down an OBE. “I get angry when I hear that word ’empire’; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers, brutalised,” he wrote in The Guardian.
Karl Shiels
Karl Shiels had a brief role in Peaky Blinders. He played Ryan, a member of the IRA who meets Tommy in the Garrison to ask about stolen guns. His character debuts and dies within the same episode, killed by Grace in self-defence after she follows him.
The actor died in July 2019 at the age of 47. As reported by The Irish Times, he had a chronic illness for which he’d visited hospital several times prior to his death.
“Karl was a uniquely talented individual, simultaneously intense, light-hearted, funny, sharp-witted, outspoken and intensely powerful… Karl was a remarkable force in Irish theatre,” his agent, Lisa Richards, said in a statement.
Shiels also starred in Fair City and Into the Badlands. He had an extensive stage career, earning multiple awards for his performance and later serving as a theatre director.
Tim Woodward
Tim Woodward appeared in one episode of Peaky Blinders. He played Lord Suckerby in the first episode of series 5, whom Tommy blackmails with photos of him and underage sex workers.
Woodward died in November 2023 at the age of 70. As reported by The Guardian, he died of cancer and was survived by his wife, Amanda Smith, and five children.
The actor got his breakthrough in 1977’s Wings, playing Royal Flying Corps pilot Alan Farmer. As well as other military roles in movies and television, he also appeared in Heartbeat, Murder City, and The Bill. Woodward’s voice will be familiar to those who grew up in the aughts, too, because he narrated Wide-Eye on CBeebies.
Toby Kirkup
Toby Kirkup had a small role in Peaky Blinders as a police officer. He died in August 2020 at the age of 48.
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As reported by Yorkshire Live, the actor had been discharged from hospital on the day he died, having been diagnosed with gastritis. He later suffered a cardiac arrest, with an inquest supporting the hospital’s decision to let him go home.
Kirkup also appeared in Emmerdale, The Mill, and Testament of Youth.
Kenneth Colley
Kenneth Colley played Vicente Changretta, the boss of Birmingham’s Italian crime family. In the show, his character dies at the hands of Arthur Shelby (he ordered a hit on a member of the Shelby family).
Colley died in June 2025 at the age of 87. The actor passed away peacefully in his home, according to a BBC report, after contracting COVID-19 and developing pneumonia.
In a statement, his agent Julian Owen said: “Ken Colley was one of our finest character actors with a career spanning 60 years.
“Ken continually worked on stage, film and television playing a vast array of characters, from Jesus in Monty Python’s Life of Brian to evil and eccentric characters in Ken Russell films, and the Duke of Vienna in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure for the BBC.”
Read more: Peaky Blinders recap: How series 6 ended, who died and how it sets up Netflix’s Immortal Man movie
