Filming for Peaky Blinders movie shuts down Birmingham road as Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby seen on horseback

Usually bustling with workers and visitors, the canal area of Birmingham was deserted as it was taken back in time by Peaky Blinders film crews, transformed into an inner city during war-time. And on Monday (October 21), fans were treated to the sight of Cillian Murphy - reprising his role as Tommy Shelby - on horseback, complete with trademark flat cap.

The 48-year-old Irish Oscar winner was also spotted with fake blood trickling down his cheek while wearing what appeared to be a heavily mud-stained jacket and suit. One onlooker, who could see the scenes being filmed from her office, said: "The whole office kept getting up. It was a distraction the whole day.

"When I was walking into work, I saw all the flash screens and the filming signs. I Googled that they were filming in Birmingham. I saw the actors getting off the coach, but I couldn't make out who they were from where I was."

Starstruck watchers said filming went on for around seven hours, starting at 10am.

The Peaky Blinders movie will be the seventh instalment of the hit series, after the sixth and final TV series came to an end in 2022 and will tell the final chapter of story of Tommy Shelby and his Birmingham gang.

The film was confirmed by creator, Steven Knight, in 2021, as the final episode in the drama, which centred on a notorious Birmingham gang formed in 1919.

It has made stars of the likes of Murphy, as well as actors Joe Cole and Harry Kirton, who appeared alongside established actors such as Sam Neill, Helen McCrory and Tom Hardy.