Peaky Blinders creator says Arthur Shelby wasn't in The Immortal Man because "Tommy needed to have done something that he couldn't forgive himself for"

While Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man brings the story of Tommy Shelby to a close, one character, Arthur Shelby, is pretty much absent from the narrative.

He appears in a flashback, though not played by original actor Paul Anderson, who in 2024 pleaded guilty to four charges of drug possession. In the flashback, we see (spoiler alert!) Tommy strangling Arthur to death.

"What I'll say is that the story determines the cast, and the story was set. I knew that Tommy needed to have done something that he couldn't forgive himself for," Knight revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. "Therefore, that's why the plot went in that particular direction. But in terms of Paul, all I'll say is that he's a fantastic actor."

It's not just Arthur who meets his maker in The Immortal Man either, but Tommy, too, who is killed by his son – Barry Keoghan's Duke. "I was having trouble with that one, because Tommy Shelby said in the series the only person who can kill Tommy Shelby is Tommy Shelby," Knight previously revealed of Tommy's fate. "But I didn't want that to happen. And then it just suddenly became quite clear." You can read more about how Tommy goes out in our Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man ending explained.

A '50s set Peaky Blinders spin-off is currently filming, so we don't have to bid goodbye to Peaky Blinders for good, however.

The Immortal Man is streaming on Netflix now. You can fill out your watchlist with our guide to the best Netflix movies.