'Devastated' Cillian Murphy says Covid robbed Helen McCrory of Peaky Blinders role

Cillian Murphy has revealed that late actor Helen McCrory will be “very present” in the final series of Peaky Blinders.

McCrory, who played Polly Gray in the popular BBC period drama, died of cancer last April, aged 52, amid the halting of filming due to the Covid pandemic.

Her co-star, Murphy, who plays gangster Tommy Shelby in the show, has however said that she will still be “very present” in the upcoming sixth and final series.

He told Empire magazine: “We were about to shoot and then the pandemic happened. If we had shot then, Helen would’ve been in the show, and that makes me feel sad.”

The actor continued in the recent interview: “It’s a huge loss. She was the matriarch of the whole thing. As the character, but just also as her personality.

“But she’s still present in series six. Steve [Knight, creator] managed to keep her very, very present.”

Following McCrory’s passing last year, her husband Damian Lewis, 50, paid tribute in a post on Twitter – in which he remembered his wife as someone who lived “fearlessly.”

He said at the time: “I’m heartbroken to announce that after a heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family.

“She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you.”

McCrory – whose credits also include Harry Potter – had starred alongside Murphy in Peaky Blinders since it’s debut in 2013. It follows the exploits of a Birmingham-based gang.

Other cast members on the show have included Paul Anderson, Annabelle Wallis, Sam Neill and Tom Hardy.

Five series have been broadcast so far, with the latest of those having aired in 2019. The upcoming sixth series will be the show’s last and there’s yet to be an official air date.

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