It has been three years since Tommy Shelby rode off into the fog of a Birmingham hillside, and the Peaky Blinders universe has been warming up for a comeback ever since. Now, two of Shelby Street’s most familiar faces are confirmed to be making the trip back.
Ned Dennehy and Packy Lee will reprise their roles as Charlie Strong and Johnny Dogs in the BBC’s Peaky Blinders sequel series, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed this week. Charlie, the grizzled boatyard keeper who served as one of the Shelby family’s most loyal old hands, and Johnny Dogs, the Romani horse trader with an uncanny gift for appearing at the right — or wrong — moment, were fixtures across the original six-season run. Their return signals that the sequel intends to keep at least one foot planted firmly in the show’s original mythology.
They won’t be walking back into an empty room. Conleth Hill, who spent eight seasons as the eunuch spymaster Varys in Game of Thrones and knows a thing or two about navigating dangerous men in period costume, has been confirmed as a new addition to the cast. Lucie Shorthouse and Cal O’Driscoll also join the lineup, though character details for all three newcomers are being kept under the flat cap for now.
The sequel series, which has been in development at the BBC with creator Steven Knight attached, picks up the Shelby saga in a new chapter. Production details and a premiere window have not yet been confirmed publicly.