Peaky Blinders

The real history behind the hit BBC drama Peaky Blinders – including the real gangsters of Birmingham, Glasgow and beyond

Late 19th and early 20th-century 'lock-up mugshots' show style-conscious villains staring down the camera

Victorian

Who were the real Peaky Blinders?

An 1872 illustration from the weekly newspaper Days’ Doings shows a shoplifter being apprehended (Photo by Look and Learn/Rosenberg Collection/Bridgeman Images)

Membership

Lady swindlers: 6 women who turned to lives of crime and became queens of the underworld. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sir Oswald Mosley taking the salute from female members of the BUF

20th Century

Your guide to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists (BUF)

Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby in season six of 'Peaky Blinders'

20th Century

Peaky Blinders: The story so far, plus the real figures to expect in season 6

The Kray brothers

Victorian

The A-Z of British gangs and gangsters

Billy Fullerton, gang chief of the Glasgow gang the Billy Boys

20th Century

Who were the real Billy Boys, the Glasgow gang in Peaky Blinders?

A cartoon from 1862 shows a pair 'garroters' attacking a victim. (Photo by The Cartoon Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

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Gangs and knife-crime fears: how has Britain responded through history?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A real Peaky Blinder mug-shot

VictoriangalleryIn pictures: what did the real Peaky Blinders look like?

Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark. The BBC television drama is putting Cornwall’s coastline at risk of "over-tourism” as visitors flock to the area to visit the show's scenic filming locations, tourism chiefs have warned. (Photo by BBC/Mammoth Screen/Mike Hogan)

General Modern

Poldark, Peaky Blinders and 6 other historical TV shows that have tourists flocking to Britain

(BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd/Tiger Aspect/Robert Viglasky)

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Peaky Blinders: behind the scenes with creator Steven Knight. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.