Peaky Blinders actress Helen McCrory has opened up about some of the deleted scenes from season 5 involving Tommy Shelby and her character Aunt Polly.
Helen – who has played Aunt Polly since the show's debut, spoke to Digital Spy, admitting her and Tommy's (played by Cillian Murphy) scenes together were cut short in the edit suite.
But what will viewers miss out on?
Related: Peaky Blinders season 5 star says show is "disgustingly violent" and that's just how it should be
"Tommy and I didn't have much to do," she reflected. "You feel that she's his touchstone. I think there were some scenes. I think we lost them to be honest, I think they've been cut. I don't know if any of them remain in the series. So there were a few."
Explaining how these scenes investigated Tommy's vulnerabilities, Helen added: "You do look into the world of Tommy, you do look into the fact he's very mentally fragile.
What to Read Next
"You do look at the idea that he's now become a politician. Is it possible to change yourself, to be a good person if you have been a bad person?
"He's doing all these acts. Can a bad person do good acts? Or do they automatically become bad because a gangster did them?"
Sounds intriguing...
Peaky Blinders seasons 5 returns to BBC One on Sunday, August 25 at 9pm.
Obsessed With… Peaky Blinders hosted by Digital Spy's Editor, Laurence Mozafari, is out now and available to listen to on BBC Sounds.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter. A former Editor-in-Chief of Digital Spy, Laurence previously held roles as the site's Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video. Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019. He also hosts his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.
Laurence was named Editorial Director – Youth Audience at Reach in early 2025. Prior to joining Digital Spy, he was previously at Bauer Media working as Digital Editor of Heat magazine's website Heatworld.com, and has also worked at and written for Sky, NME, Q magazine, Grazia, Closer, FHM and dedicated careers website GoThinkBig. He secured a first-class BA journalism degree at Staffordshire University, along with several NCTJ qualifications, and now has 14 years' experience in digital publishing covering TV, movies, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel.
Laurence has been a broadcasting contributor on television and radio, including KISS, Heat Radio, BBC Radio London, Radio 5 Live, and BBC Breakfast.
He is also a visiting lecturer at various universities teaching journalism, including City, University of London, Nottingham Trent, Staffordshire University and London Metropolitan. Laurence has won numerous awards in his journalism career, including the BSME Talent Award’s Best Deputy Editor, the PPA's 30 Under 30, and the New Editor and Editor of the Year at the AOP and BSMEs. He led Digital Spy to win PPA's Digital Content Team of the Year twice, along with the British Media Awards’ Brand of the Year in 2021.
Laurence joined the committee for the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2022 and was named vice-chair in 2025. He has since hosted panels with CEOs of Immediate Media and the Media Trust at the PPA Festival, as well as presenting his own radio show on Green Man Radio at Green Man Festival in 2022. Laurence is also a Brits voting academy member.
Laurence has been lucky enough to interview numerous celebrities, actors, and musicians throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger loved his hair, Jimmy Carr loved his coat and Antonio Banderas gave a shout-out to his mum. Laurence has covered set visits for The Witcher on Netflix and Marvel’s Inhumans, he got Daisy Ridley to do a Chewbacca impression and loves Marvel, PlayStation, Glastonbury and craft beer. Linkedin
