Peaky Blinders wins award for television excellence from Banff World Media Festival

The Birmingham-based drama series has won the Rockie Award for Best Drama Series: English Language from Banff World Media Festival.

Starring Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Sam Neill, Adrien Brody and Charlotte Riley, the BBC TV series also won a BAFTA Award earlier this year.

Peaky Blinders has been aired for four seasons, with a fifth confirmed for 2019.

The show follows gangsters the Shelby family and their dealings in 1920s Birmingham.

In addition to a variety of other locations, many of the show's scenes are filmed at Dudley's Black Country Living Museum.

Creator Steven Knight has also said the gritty gangster thriller could be set for the big screen.

The Rockie Awards is the festival's flagship program 'celebrating excellence in television and digital content from around the world'.

Entries are submitted by participants from more than 40 different countries annually, which are then judged by a jury consisting of 100 international industry professionals.

Banff World Media Festival began in 1980; previously called Banff World Television Festival.

Film directors, screenwriters, producers and other professionals from around the world participate in seminars, master classes, and pitching opportunities at the event.

As well as the Rockie Awards, the ceremony also includes the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, which was won by Sean Hayes at this year's festival.

Previous recipients of the accolade include John Cleese, Dame Edna, Bob Newhart, Kelsey Grammer, Ricky Gervais Martin Short, Tracey Ullman and Kelsey Grammer among others.