Midlands Heroes: Steven Knight- The man who put the West Midlands back on the TV and movie map
Not all Midlands Heroes wear capes; some prefer flat caps - by order of the Peaky Blinders.
The man who brought us Tommy Shelby, Arthur Shelby and the immortal Alfie Solomons, screenwriter, producer, and director Steven Knight is one of the West Midlands’ greatest living patriots.
Born in Birmingham in 1959 to parents George and Ida, Knight is famous for his work on various films including Locke, and as the creator of TV hits including A Thousand Blows, House of Guinness, and, of course, Peaky Blinders.
Passionate about Birmingham and the wider region as a prospective filming location, Knight has recently established his Digbeth Loc. Studios, and has also launched West Midlands-based agency Production Central WM.
Yet, it was back in 2013 when the project that would come to define him and serve as the vehicle for his clout first hit our screens.
Originally scheduled in a somewhat sleepy BBC2 Sunday night slot, Peaky Blinders would come to put Birmingham back on the map with a fresh injection of sex appeal and cool.
A story based around a family at the heart of one of the early 20th century’s most infamous racecourse gangs, Peaky treated us to the delectable moral ambiguity of the Shelby clan, who were led by dapper-yet-damaged pseudo-Robin Hood, Thomas.
Played to perfection by Irish actor Cillian Murphy, Tommy Shelby instantly captured the hearts of viewers, and it wasn’t long before he became the poster child for ‘Cool Brum-tania’.
With stellar supporting turns from the likes of Paul Anderson (Arthur), Tom Hardy (Alfie) and the late, great Helen McCrory (Aunt Polly), Peaky enjoyed a meteoric rise and garnered an impressive collection of high profile fans in the process.
American writer Stephen King was an early advocate of the show, Tweeting about it back in 2014 and encouraging viewers on both sides of the Atlantic to get stuck in.
Julia Roberts has cited Peaky Blinders as the “turning point’ in her “feelings about television and what it can do”, and David Bowie became so enamoured with the show that, prior to his death, he gave Knight permission to use any track he wished from his final album, Blackstar.
