Peaky Blinders director teases 'pretty dark' female character for series 6

\'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.

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"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.

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"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.

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"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."