Helen McCrory’s untimely passing had a big impact on the direction of “Peaky Blinders”.
Season six of “Peaky Blinders” premiered on Sunday, Feb. 27. Show creator Steven Knight opened up about how McCrory’s death affected the show’s writing process and her character, Elizabeth “Polly” Gray.
“We knew from series five that she was not well, but if we’d started shooting before the pandemic closed us down, she would have been in it, but probably not as extensively as she would have been normally,” Knight told Deadline. “Then, as the pandemic continued, we were told that Helen would be able to do less and less.”
“So I was going back and rewriting. It’s not a complete rewrite because it is a game of Jenga, but there are ways around it so I had to just keep adjusting them until in the end it was apparent that she wouldn’t be able to be in it at all.”
McCrory, 52, died of breast cancer at her London home on April 16. Her waning health forced Knight to pivot on his vision for “Peaky Blinders”.
“Of course. You know, the thing is that real life intervenes and the loss of the human being Helen McCrory is the tragedy,” Knight said. “The loss and consequence to the character in the story is by comparison infinitesimal. But we knew that she loved the show and wanted it to continue, so we felt we would continue.
READ MORE: Cillian Murphy Says It Felt ‘Very Strange’ Filming ‘Peaky Blinders’ Without The Late Helen McCrory
“And what I wanted to do, and what I think we’ve done is, it’s like in real life if you lose a member of your family — even after they’ve passed — their opinion remains in the home, so anything that happens, you think, ‘What would they have thought about that? What would they have done about that?’ and that lasts for such a long time and that’s exactly what we want.”
Season six of “Peaky Blinders” concludes on April 3.
