'Peaky Blinders' Season 6 Production Faces Major Setback

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has made filming a challenge for most film and television [...]

By Alyssa Fikse

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has made filming a challenge for most film and television productions, and BBC's Peaky Blinders (which airs on Netflix in the U.S.) has been one of many trying to continue under the ever-changing COVID-19 safety guidelines. The Peaky Blinders crew has faced a number of starts and stops, and production was shut down on Wednesday after a crew member returned a false positive test. The individual took the standard test in compliance with NHS protocol and is self-isolating, as is everyone they came in contact with.

"Filming was stood down on Peaky Blinders because of a false-positive test result for a member of the crew," a show spokesperson told The Daily Mail."In line with protocol, this person took an NHS test and anyone who came into contact with them self-isolated – the safety of our team on Peaky Blinders is of paramount importance. The NHS test has come back negative and filming will resume as normal tomorrow."

This batch of episodes will be the popular British drama's sixth and final season, and production was initially shut down last year due to the pandemic. "After much consideration, and in light of the developing situation concerning Covid-19, the start of production of Peaky Blinders Series 6 has been postponed," the official Peaky Blinders account tweeted at the time. "Huge thanks to our incredible cast and crew, and to all our amazing fans for their continued support." Production resumed in January.

The cast and crew only recently resumed filming after the death of beloved actress Helen McCrory, who played Aunt Polly. "Helen's performance as Polly Gray was inspirational, joyous, transgressive, hilarious, and incredibly moving," the team shared after her passing. "As a person, she was off-the-scale charismatic and deeply caring. We feel so privileged to have worked with her over the last decade. All our thoughts and love are with Damian and family."

As Peaky Blinders comes to an end, the team behind the crime drama is determined for it to go out with a bang, no matter the difficulties. "Peaky is back and with a bang," showrunner Steven Knight wrote in a statement. "After the enforced production delay due to the Covid pandemic, we find the family in extreme jeopardy and the stakes have never been higher. We believe this will be the best series of all and are sure that our amazing fans will love it."

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