Peaky Blinders ending explained: Will there be a season 7? Is there going to be a Peaky Blinders film?

After six seasons of bloodshed, backstabbing and explosive storytelling, Peaky Blinders concluded on BBC One with an extended final episode.

The stunning season 6 finale calls time on the Peaky Blinders on TV, but creator Steven Knight has promised this isn’t the last we’ll see of the Brummie gang as he plans to take the Shelbys to the big screen with a highly anticipated Peaky Blinders movie.

Here is everything you need to know about the Peaky Blinders finale, the shock twist ending for Tommy, and discover what might be in store in the next chapter of the story...

*Warning - spoilers for season 6, episode 6 finale ahead*

Will there be a Peaky Blinders film and what will it be about?

The Peaky Blinders ending explained

Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) managed to cheat death again in the Peaky Blinders finale as the truth about his health condition was revealed.

It turned out that his tuberculoma diagnosis had been fabricated as part of a conspiracy from Sir Oswald Mosley and Lady Diana Mitford (Sam Claflin and Amber Anderson).

Tommy turned the gun away from himself in his caravan park after a vision featuring his late daughter Ruby persuaded him to not pull the trigger.

He then discovers a charred picture of Mosley’s wedding, with his doctor (Aneurin Barnard) among the guests. It turns out that Tommy didn't have a fatal health condition and it was all a con orchestrated by fascists.

Tommy confronted Dr Holford in the closing moments, but he opted to spare him his life and, in a moment reminiscent of his entrance in season one, Tommy rode off on his horse. The symbolic difference was that he arrived upon a black horse and departed on a white one – a new man.

Elsewhere in the finale, Tommy appeared to make Duke his new heir and set him up as a key player in any Peaky Blinders movie. We saw him whispering to Duke in a farewell dinner for the Shelby clan in the woods.

He handed responsibilities to Arthur, Linda and Charles, but it was Duke – now with a sharp Peaky haircut – who appears to be next in line to take control of the gang.

Who dies in the Peaky Blinders season 6 finale?

Not surprisingly, there was bloodshed and shots fired in the last ever episode of Peaky Blinders, but there were less fatal moments than many might have expected.

There were three significant deaths in the episode. Firstly, ‘Black Cat’ Billy Grade (Emmett J Scanlan) was killed off for betraying the Shelbys.

Billy was killed by Isiah (Daryl McCormack) after he turned up at the clearance of Tommy’s house with Finn Shelby and the pair got ambushed. Finn was spared, but has been banished from the family for his part in the betrayal.

Arthur (Paul Anderson) got payback on Laura ‘Captain Swing’ Mckee (Charlene McKenna) for the murder of Aunt Polly (Helen McCrory), luring her soldiers into a trap and finishing them off with mustard gas. “Rest in peace, Poll” proclaimed Arthur has he took sweet revenge.

The finale also saw an exit for Michael Gray (Finn Cole), who finally came face to face with Tommy again. Michael attempted to kill Tommy with a bomb on his car, but the explosive was switched by Johnny Dogs at the last moment. Tommy ends up shooting Michael in the eye, fulfilling Aunt Polly’s prophecy that there would be a war and one of them would die.

What happened to Finn in Peaky Blinders?

Many had been wondering why Finn Shelby (Harry Kirton) hadn’t played a bigger role in season 6, but it became clear in the finale that the reason he was being sidelined was that he was no longer trusted by the Peaky Blinders.

By the end of the episode, we saw Finn being banished from the family by Tommy’s new heir Duke Shelby (Conrad Khan).

Tommy had discovered that it was Billy Grade, who betrayed the family to Captain Swing and cost Polly her life. We also saw in season five that it was Finn’s lose lips about Tommy’s plans to kill Oswald Mosley that allowed Billy Grade to make the crucial phone call.

Finn was given the chance to choose his side in the finale, as he was handed a gun by Duke. However, rather than shooting Billy, he attempted to fire at Duke and Isiah.

Cleverly, Duke had left the first two barrels in the gun blank, anticipating the betrayal, and was able to knock him down before he could fire again.

Finn wasn’t killed by Duke, but was informed he was no longer part of the family, by order of the Peaky Blinders. An emotional Finn vowed that he would get revenge and come for Duke another day.

Will there be a season 7 of Peaky Blinders?

Creator Steven Knight has confirmed there definitely won’t be a Peaky Blinders season 7.

Although the finale left plenty of storylines open-ended, any unanswered questions will have to be dealt with in the planned movie and, possibly after that, any spinoff series.

Originally, Peaky Blinders was supposed to finish with season 7, but creator Steven Knight brought the ending forward following delays due to Covid and the death of Helen McCrory, who played Polly Gray.

Talking on BBC News in 2021, Knight said: “The original intention was to do seven series, but Covid has stolen a year from us, and we felt what would be a great idea is to, almost in place of that seventh series, is to go onto the big screen."

“The reason is boringly practical which is that we lost a year due to the pandemic.

“The way these things are scheduled – it’s like turning an oil tanker around.”

"We just felt, also with the loss of Helen [McCrory], that it all seemed to be pointing towards doing what I'm calling ‘the end of the beginning'.

“Let’s end the beginning, then let's do the film. And then let's see where we go in terms of spin-offs."

Who sings the final song in the Peaky Blinders soundtrack, ‘All The Tired Horses’?

The music of Peaky Blinders has always been one of the most show’s most talked about and memorable assets.

From Nick Cave’s iconic Red Right Hand onwards, the show’s brooding soundtrack has oozed cool.

The finale didn’t disappoint on that front with Lisa O’Neill’s cover of Bob Dylan’s All The Tired Horses chosen to soundtrack the show’s ending.

Writing about the song on Instagram, O'Neill said: "It is not an overstatement to say that it was beyond my wildest dreams to be 'Ordered by the Peaky F*****g Blinders' to cover this beautiful song from Bob Dylan.

"Go raibh míle maith agat Peaky Blinders.  Go raibh míle maith agat Cormac Begley, Colm Mac Con Iomaire agus Ruth O'Mahony Brady for whom without, this track would not exist. 

"We recorded this version of All The Tired Horses in an old horse stables in Cabinteely, South Dublin over the space of two days.  We recorded by constant candlelight as a dear friend was dying at the time. This all contributed to the energy and the charge of the final track. That friend has since passed."  

Episode six also included the reveal of Radiohead side project The Smile’s new song Pana-vision and an instrumental from Thom Yorke, That’s How Horses Are.

The Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem opened the final episode. This haunting piece of choral music - one of the last things the composer wrote before his death - has been used in many films and TV shows over the years, including The Crown, The Big Lebowski and, recently, the red wedding scene in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Is there going to be a Peaky Blinders film and when will it be released?

Production on the film is rumoured to be starting in late 2022 or early 2023.

Cillian Murphy and Paul Anderson, Tommy and Arthur Shelby, are expected to return for the film.

Stephen Graham – who joined in season six for a small role as Hayden Stagg – is also rumoured to be involved.

If the movie does begin production in 2022, a release date in 2023 looks quite likely. But if filming doesn’t start until next year, we may have to wait for 2024 to see the Brummie gang on the big screen.

What will the Peaky Blinders film be about?

Creator Steven Knight hasn’t revealed much about the movie, keeping details top secret, presumably to avoid spoiling the ending for the TV show.

However, in an interview with the Radio Times, Knight confirmed that the plan for the film was to take the Peaky Blinders gang into World War 2.

 "I know what's going to happen in those stories and it's about a sort of untold story that happened in the Second World War, which Peakys are going to be involved in.

Peaky Blinders season 6 is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Seasons 1-5 are available now on BBC iPlayer and Netflix.