Tom Hardy insisted on Peaky Blinders season 6 return

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Tom Hardy pushed for a return to Peaky Blinders despite his character being believed to be dead.

Series creator Steven Knight revealed to Metro that Hardy’s character Alfie Solomons was not originally supposed to return to the series, but the actor convinced him to change his mind.

Knight said: “The plan changed, let me put it that way – because Tom does love this character.”

Solomons was shot by Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) at the climax of season four, leaving fans to assume he was dead. The character returned, however, in the last episode of season five.

In the first episode of the show’s sixth season, which began this month, Shelby can be seen meeting Solomons in prison and offering him a business proposition. There have also been mentions of a wider Solomons family coming into the show, which will come to an end after this current season concludes.

Knight has previously teased “chaos” amid the return of Solomons, and said that the character will be in a “position not quite as strong as he normally is”.

Solomons’ return to the show was warmly received by fans on social media. One user wrote on Twitter: “Tom Hardy is just so f***in good in Peaky Blinders.” Another wrote: “What an entrance. Alfie’s back.”

Peaky Blinders continues on Sundays at 9pm on BBC One.