Filming for Peaky Blinders' sixth and final season is well underway and new photos from behind the scenes have revealed that Stephen Graham will finally be making his long-awaited debut on the BBC series.
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The Line Of Duty star was spotted on the set of the popular series this week as the cast and crew returned for filming for the first time since Helen McCrory's sad passing earlier this month.
Stephen could be seen wearing period-appropriate clothing as he filmed scenes alongside series regulars Cillian Murphy and Paul Anderson, who play brothers Tommy and Arthur Shelby.
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The actor, who is also known for his roles in Broadwalk Empire and This is England, was originally meant to shoot scenes for the period crime drama last year, but filming was derailed by the global health crisis.
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Speaking on the podcast Pound for Pound last August, he opened up about his disappointment at having to postpone his debut on the show. "I was supposed to be starting Peaky Blinders but that has been put on hold indefinitely," he said. "My agent spent a lot of time putting that together."
While it was rumoured that he would be portraying the infamous New York gangster Al Capone, who he also played on Broadwalk Empire, it's now believed that he will instead play a new character - although details remain under wraps.
The actor's arrival on the show has been a long time coming; it was first confirmed that he would be joining the show's all-star cast back in 2019.
© Photo: RexStephen appeared on series five of Line of Duty alongside Martin Compston
Creator Steven Knight previously opened up about the actor's role in the upcoming series while appearing on the Obsessed with... Peaky Blinders podcast, explaining: "The amount of people who have come to us wanting to be in it is quite astonishing, and really good people.
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"So what I've tried to avoid before is turning it into a 'spot the celebrity' – you know, because I think it's quite distracting sometimes."
As for Stephen's character and his storyline, he teased: "I've already got it and I'm not going to tell you."
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