Spoilers for Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 4 and episode 5 follow.
Peaky Blinders season 6 has already dealt a fair few blows to Tommy Shelby.
Firstly losing Polly Shelby, Aberama Gold and Barney Thomason in the failed assassination attempt, then the loss of his young daughter Ruby to tuberculosis, and now the Shelby gang leader seemingly has a fatal diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumour.
But within all of that, there was another problem for Tommy (Cillian Murphy) to tackle – or potentially, a saving grace...
Esme Shelby, the wife of Tommy's dead brother John, made a surprise return in episode three, 'Gold', and revealed the cursed sapphire was to blame for Ruby's illness. We then saw Tommy go on to wreak bloody vengeance on the curse-layer, Navadni Barwell, in episode four, 'Sapphire'.
It would have been fair to assume Esme's plot was settled after that, but she returned to drop one more bombshell in the shape of a missing Shelby son, Conrad Khan's new character Duke Shelby, real name Erasmus, although he doesn't like to be called that, FYI.
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Who is Duke Shelby / Erasmus?
Fans have been speculating for a while about who the BAFTA Rising Star nominee is playing, and while it would have been fair to assume it was one of John Shelby's many, many children coming to the fore, he is in fact Tommy Shelby's firstborn son.
Esme explains his mother is Zelda, a woman Tommy slept with at Appleby Horse Fair before he fought in the Great War. Esme met Zelda and reminds Tommy he had sex with her under a hazel tree in May 1914. She fell pregnant but Tommy had already gone to war in France. We later find out that Zelda "died on the road".
Tommy's first son Duke has hazel eyes – yeah we know, very subtle considering he was conceived under a hazel tree. The dates would make Duke around 19 years old in season six, as it's set around 1934. Tommy also mentions he met Zelda 20 years ago.
What else do we know about Duke? Well, his mother Zelda told him his actual father was the Duke of Saxon Shaw, and she was a Romany Queen. However, Tommy later explains Zelda stole his watch and chain.
The watch had 'Saxon Shaw' carved into it, as Tommy stole it himself when he was a kid. This is where Zelda's claims that Erasmus' father was the Duke of Saxon Shaw came from. Tommy adds that Zelda's father shot him in the chest with a squirrel gun when Zelda fell pregnant, which left a scar. Zelda obviously held a flame for Tommy, as she continued to wear the watch over her heart and was buried with it.
Duke doesn't drink (at least Tommy and he have that in common now), he can't read, and he can't write. However, he is pretty good at stealing things, as he lifts Arthur's watch, cash from the betting shop, and is caught trying to steal a car.
In episode 5 'The Road to Hell' he's quite put off by the violence he sees in the betting shop as Billy Grad (Emmett J Scanlan) kills a referee who refuses to fix a football match. So Tommy and Duke agree he'll work with horses, and remain anonymous.
However, Tommy hints that's his business will need Duke for his "dark" work in the future, suggesting that his other son, Charlie, will fulfil his "light" work, adding his affairs will need settling soon.
Hazel eyes, which Duke is said to have, are a hard colour to define. Sometimes they're more of a brown, but it can also be a combination of brown, green, grey and gold depending on the person.
We're already well versed in the ominous premonition about the "man with the green eyes", who we assumed was Oswald Mosley. However, Conrad Khan's eyes look very green in his non-Peaky Blinders promo pictures.
It's also interesting that 'Gold' was the name of episode three (in which Ruby died), and has been a recurring theme in this season. And coincidentally, it's exactly what Esme is asking to be paid with.
We might be overthinking this, but the hazel eye colour seems to be a key thing about Duke, based on Esme's conversation with Tommy and that weird tree connection.
Zelda and Tommy Shelby's pre-war girlfriend Greta Jurossi
Zelda is a totally different woman from Tommy Shelby's other briefly mentioned pre-war girlfriend, Greta Jurossi. She was the part-Italian woman he dated before the war.
Tommy tells Lizzie about Greta Jurossi in season four when he takes Lizzie down to the river to have sex. He promises Lizzie he's "kissing her" and not Greta in his thoughts.
We also see a glimpse of Greta and Tommy in an old photograph, which Jessie Eden gave to Tommy, as she knew Greta's sister. It's captioned 'Wild Rovers beside the seaside. June 15th.'
Greta died before Tommy went to war, and he spent three months by her bedside, but interestingly she died of tuberculosis, just like his daughter Ruby.
Another eerie connection to season six's events is that when Lizzie told Tommy she was pregnant with Ruby back in season four, she knew he was actually thinking about Greta while they were having sex.
Lizzie said: "And yes it can only be yours, the day by the canal when you were f**king somebody else in your head. Except it wasn't her who got pregnant."
It's transpired that Zelda is unrelated to Greta Jurossi, but the fact Lizzie knows about her, and that Tommy was thinking about her when they conceived Ruby, AND she died of tuberculosis just like Ruby does seems like a lot of coincidences. Either way, Lizzie is very visibly unhappy to see Duke arrive.
Is Duke Shelby the future of the Peaky Blinders?
Well, this is the golden question, isn't it? (Sorry).
The main plot focuses on Captain Swing, Oswald Mosley, Jack Nelson and Diana Mitford's collusion to bring about fascism.
Then there's the impending showdown with Michael Gray (assuming Tommy doesn't get him back on side with the information that Gina is cheating with Mosley). It seems unlikely that there's going to be loads of room to pack in Duke Shelby.
Bear in mind that we still need to squeeze in some sort of "final act" for Alfie Solomons, give Arthur Shelby a proper plot reuniting with Linda Shelby, and hopefully find time to do justice for Ada Shelby and generally MIA or mute Finn Shelby with his new wife.
Perhaps Duke Shelby is merely a backdoor pilot for the Peaky Blinders spin-off or movie, which director Anthony Byrne has spoken about, focusing on younger Peakies going down to London.
Steven Knight told Esquire: "In series six we're bringing in the new generation, and they are going to be part of what happens in the film."
Don't forget we met a selection of younger guys in episode three when Arthur went to Liverpool with Isaiah: Dougie Bill (Jack Parr), Gilly Ray (Stefan Healy) and Joe Ray (Ciaran Clancy).
While Harry Kirton, who plays Finn Shelby told Digital Spy: "Yes, they very much show that the younger guys could take over."
Knight added to Esquire: "The film, I know exactly what it's about. And I know what two stories it's going to tell. How the story will unfold, I don't know.
"What will happen after that, I want that to depend on the film. For all we know somebody is going to pop out – I think I know who it's going to be."
Duke Shelby will be a suitable fighting age for conscription in World War II when the Peaky Blinders movie is set – unlike Arthur and Tommy.
Steven Knight confirmed to Digital Spy that Tommy Shelby will feature in the movie, but first, we need to work out how he's going to defeat his latest enemy.
And forget the "man he can't defeat", as his doctor tells him in episode 4, he has "a new one, inside you, you cannot defeat it, but you can keep it at bay… for a while".
Peaky Blinders series 6 airs on Sundays at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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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
