Peaky Blindersis a TV series set in Birmingham after WWI that premiered in September 2013. It follows the Shelby family and their Peaky Blinders gang. Though the series is now available onNetflix, it originally aired onBBCTwo.A season 5 recapbefore watching season 6 is highly recommended. This show has been able to pave the way for 2 video games.
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Peaky Blinders: Mastermind was released on August 15, 2025, and is available on the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The newest game is called Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom, released August 01, 2025, on the Meta Quest 2 and PICO 4. In January 2021, allquestions about season 7were answered; now, it’s simply a waiting game. Let’s take a look at the top 10 characters of the TV series.
10Esme Lee-Shelby
Esme, played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards, is a Romani gypsy and a member of the Lee family. Her marriage to John Shelby is arranged in order to bring peace between the families, but it becomes clear quickly that they are in favor of the wedding. Though she works in the betting shop for a while, Esme isn’t much involved with the legal or illegal side of the Shelby family business.
Though she wasn’t a central character and wasn’t seen often in the show, her marriage was a pivotal plot point. Esme convinces John to move away from the rest of the Shelbys, which may have cost him his life and changed the storyline. It can be argued that they could’ve learned about the threat to the Shelbys and stayed somewhere safer. She also returns in season 6 and reconnects Tommy to his Romani roots.
9Grace Burgess-Shelby
Grace, played by Annabelle Wallis, is an undercover agent for the Birmingham Police who poses as a barmaid at The Garrison Pub. She’s sent to spy on the Shelby family and get close to Tommy, who she ends up falling in love with. They eventually marry and have a son together before Grace is killed by a bullet meant for Tommy.
Grace’s most exciting moments all happened during the first season. After that, she wasn’t involved in the Shelby business at all, and she simply became Tommy’s love interest. However, her loss affected Tommy twice deeply.
8Johnny Dogs
Johnny, portrayed by Packy Lee, is a Romani cousin with ties to the Shelbys and the Lee family. He helps Tommy with some of the shadier parts of the family business since he’s one of the few people Tommy trusts almost wholly.
Johnny is a recurring character that’s seen in all six seasons. He might not be seen often, but his deep loyalty and crucial help in several of Tommy’s shadier schemes make him an important character. Johnny also brings much-needed levity and humor in some scenes.
7Michael Gray
Michael, portrayed by Finn Cole, is Polly’s son, who was taken from her when he was 5. Tommy finds him and brings him into the Shelby family. At first, he only has a hand with the legal side of things, but he eventually begins to work on the illegal side too. He finally plots to replace Tommy as the head of the Shelby business and is banished from the family. Michael fails to kill Tommy, and Tommy shoots him in the head.
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Michael’s character turn was puzzling. Tommy loses all his trust in him at the end of season 4, and he loses the family tons of money after not listening to Tommy at the beginning of season 5. It’s clear that he has much more to learn, but he still begins plotting to take over. Coming in, he wants to be accepted by the Shelbys. The time jumps may excuse some of the reasons behind the character change, but not all. However, he did well as one of the main antagonists in season 6.
6Lizzie Stark-Shelby
Lizzie, played by Natasha O’Keefe, is a prostitute who almost marries John Shelby in season 1. Tommy eventually hires her as his secretary and has her head up charities. After losing Grace, Tommy uses her in order to not fully succumb to his grief. Lizzie ends up pregnant with his baby, and they end up marrying. By the end of season 6, Lizzie files for divorce, having had enough.
Lizzie helps Tommy through his grief and falls in love with him. Despite the fact that she is treated badly by Tommy and him not fully reciprocating her feelings, she remains loyal to him throughout the show. She’s a caring mother to her daughter and stepson as well as a businesswoman, and could’ve been a great partner and wife if Tommy opened his heart to her.
5Arthur Shelby
Though Arthur, played by Paul Anderson, is the eldest Shelby, Tommy is the head of the family. Arthur suffers from WWI PTSD and some form of addiction throughout most of the series. Not being in charge comes between the brothers resulting in Arthur trying to prove himself and failing more than once in the show.
He is quick to anger, volatile, and brutal, but also loyal, weighed with remorse, and passionate. Though eager to prove himself worthy of the position of head of the family, he’s not as sharp-minded or business savvy as Tommy.
4Ada Shelby
Ada, portrayed by Sophie Rundle, is the fourth child and only female of the Shelby siblings, and the only one who isn’t involved in the family business at the show’s start. Her relationship with Tommy is the strongest out of all their siblings. By season 4, she’s Tommy’s right hand on the legal side of the business. In season 5, they confide in each other about their love interests.
Besides Polly, Ada is the only woman in Tommy’s life involved in the family business, and whom Tommy truly loves and trusts. Ada has Tommy’s ferocity, Polly’s big heart, and a sharp mind. When she fully dives into business dealings, she’s a force to be reckoned with.
3Alfred Solomons
Commonly called Alfie, portrayed by Tom Hardy, he is the head of a Jewish gang who is introduced to the series when his gang is at war against the Italians. Throughout the series, he does business with Tommy and betrays him twice, resulting in Tommy shooting him in the face. Alfie helps cause a distraction as Tommy tries to have Oswald Mosley killed, but the attempt is stopped.
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He’s intelligent, violent, calculating, and unpredictable. Even after being left for dead by Tommy, it seems he genuinely likes Tommy. Tom Hardy made Alfie likeable and sometimes would steal the scene even though he wasn’t in that many episodes.
2Polly Gray
Polly, beautifully played by the late Helen McCrory, raises the Shelby siblings after their mother’s suicide and their father, her brother, leaving his children with her. She runs the family business while the three eldest Shelbys fight in the Great War. She is often in charge of the business whenever Tommy is away and would take over for him in the event of his death for part of the series.
She’s one of Tommy’s closest and most trusted advisors in family and business, and always stands by him, even helping him bring down Luca Changretta. She’s as cunning and ruthless as Tommy whenever her loved ones are threatened and is loved and respected by all the Shelbys she raised. Her death is a crushing blow to Tommy, leaving him guilty and grief-stricken.
1Thomas Shelby
More commonly known as Tommy, played by Cillian Murphy, he becomes head of the Peaky Blinders and Shelby family after coming back from serving in WWI. He’s determined to make money to protect his family. Under his leadership, both the Shelby family’s illegal and legal business holdings grow, and Thomas becomes a Parliament member.
Tommy shows his ruthlessness whenever his enemies threaten his family, and his strategic mind helps keep him one step ahead of his enemies throughout most of the series. He didn’t truly love anyone after Grace, leaving him alone by the show’s end.NEXT:10 Things You Didn’t Know About Netflix’s Wednesday
