‘Peaky Blinders’ will introduce a "pretty dark" female character set to challenge Tommy Shelby.
Director Anthony Byrne has opened up about the upcoming sixth season of the BBC period drama and hinted at a mystery woman who will give Cillian Murphy’s alter ego a "run for his money".
Speaking to Digital Spy, he said: "There’s a great female character who is new, who is pretty dark. I haven’t seen a character like her in ‘Peaky’ before.
"I won’t say who she is, but she certainly gives Tommy a run for his money. She challenges him in a different way basically. She’s certainly not a protagonist and I don’t know if she’s an antagonist."
While Anthony compared the character to Oswald Mosley – a real life politician played by Sam Claflin in series five – he admitted the team haven’t actually cast the role yet.
He added: "It’s similar to Mosley … she has a similar ideology, and that’s challenging for any character, like I’ve said before … he or she, they don’t have guns or a gang, but they have an ideology that’s like a virus and it’s more dangerous than anything.
"She’s a great character and we’re really close to casting her, as well."
But fans could have a long time to wait to see the new character appear on screen, as Anthony has revealed the sixth season could be delayed until the end of 2021 – or even early the following year.
He explained: "In an ideal world it would be great to be prepping again towards the end of the year with a view to start shooting early next year.
"That feels achievable, whether that’s true or not, I have no idea.
"If we did start shooting in January (2021), we wouldn’t finish until May or June and then it’s another six months of editing."