Peaky Blinders spotted filming scenes from final series in Lancashire

Fans of the show's fictional crime family - the Shelbys - were given a sneaky peak at scenes from the highly anticipated final series, as crews gathered in Williamson Park in Lancaster today (February 23).

It is the second day of shooting in the park, where crews are busy filming at the landmark Ashton Memorial. Eyes were peeled for sightings of stars Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy, but there was sadly no sign of the series' famous cast today.

To avoid any potential spoilers for its final series - and to keep things safe for cast and crew - the Peaky Blinders production team has asked fans to stay away from the park until it wraps up filming.

"Everyone at Peaky Blinders is excited to be filming our new series," said the team.

"We’ve gone to extensive lengths in line with the applicable Government and regional guidelines to make the production safe for cast, crew and the communities that surround our filming locations and in order to continue to do this, we kindly ask that members of the public please stay away from our closed sets to allow us to create the series in a safe and secure way for everyone involved.

"We look forward to sharing the series with you in due course.”

Anthony Byrne, director of Peaky Blinders, said it was "a pleasure" to be filming in Lancaster, which he described as "a beautiful part of the world".

He said: "It’s a pleasure to be here. The Ashton memorial is a location we’ve all been very excited to shoot at for a long time.

"I can’t say what it is being used for or where we are supposed to be but it’s a stunning location and a beautiful part of the world for us to be in.

"Our art department have done quite an extraordinary job and transformed it into something very special indeed. That said I don’t think we could ever out do Lord Ashton and his wild ambition."

Filming will continue in Williamson Park until early March, which might suggest the location has a prominent role to play in the final episodes of the acclaimed drama.

A spokesman for Lancaster City Council said: "The council is delighted to be facilitating the filming of scenes for the popular TV drama Peaky Blinders at its Williamson Park.

"The production will have a presence on site at the Ashton Memorial until early March and both the production team and the council would like to thank everyone in advance for their patience and co-operation during the preparation and filming.

"Every effort will be made to minimise disruption for park users and we ask that visitors to the park continue to adhere to current Government restrictions and refrain from gathering in groups in the park at this time.

"It should be noted that the café and toilets in the vicinity of the memorial will be closed tomorrow whilst filming is taking place."

It's not the first time Lancashire has played a role in Peaky Blinders

The historic Hoghton Tower - located between Preston and Blackburn - kicked off the third episode of season five, which aired on BBC 1 on Sunday, September 1, 2019.

The iconic fortified manor house doubled up for St Hilda's Orphanage in Birmingham, a beneficiary bankrolled by the Shelby Family's Grace Shelby Foundation.

The tense scene put the shows leading characters Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and Polly Grey (Helen McCrory) against the orphanage's Mother Superior (Kate Dickie), where the powerful duo questioned her over reports of nuns beating children with bricks and hoses.

Tommy and Polly withdrew funding from the orphanage with the orphans re-homed in the Shelbys' own institutions.

You can read more about the scene and the filming at Hoghton Tower here.

Preston drama student, Brandon Worrall, also landed a role in Peaky Blinders in 2017.

Then aged 18, Brandon, who has been studying Performing Arts at Preston’s College, secured a recurring part and appeared in multiple episodes- alongside Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson and Helen McCrory - as one of the Birmingham gang members.

You can read more about Brandon's role in the hit crime drama here.