"Known in Small Heath": From Steven Knight's childhood stories to a hit crime drama - how the Peaky Blinders came on-screen 

Steven Knight's iconic creation Peaky Blinders has been gaining viewers' support and love from all across the globe for more than a decade now (since it first aired on BBC Two). It is the story of a family whose origins are rooted in Birmingham, England (Small Heath) and whose notoriety reached the peak during the post World War I era.

It was a period that saw a sudden spike in crimes in parts of West Midlands which originally resulted from the increase in the number of local gangs - Peaky Blinders being one of the most infamous ones. The BBC crime drama did an almost accurate job in portraying the twenties with style while sticking to the origin story of each small element that went into making the show a great success.

From their razorblade-studded hats and shiny black suits to classy hairstyles, the Peaky Blinders had set a trademark of how the gang business of Birmingham would operate back in the day. And to quote showrunner Steven Knight's statement from 2022, per Esquire, it all started with a bunch of childhood stories he heard about Small Heath:

"I was very young. My parents told me about my dad's uncles, who – in spite of what anybody may say about 'there were no Peaky Blinders after 19-whatever’ – were known in Small Heath as the Peaky Blinders."

Steven Knight's journey from his Birmingham roots to making Peaky Blinders a big hit has been quite legendary

According to Peaky Blinders helmer Steven Knight's statement to Esquire back in 2022, the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter heard a lot of stories from his parents about a notorious group that ruled Small Heath, Birmingham during the '20s and '30s while growing up. He further added that his father's profession was a reason why he got see that side of Birmingham "with loads of gypsies and scrap metal dealers."

The award winning producer also shared a story from his father's childhood where the latter once came across actual members of the Peaky Blinders while working as a messenger in Small Heath. To quote Knight's exact words:

"And there's these men immaculately dressed with guns and razor blades and a table covered in money, and they're drinking whiskey out of jam jars. "

Steven Knight's description of the incident sits quite right with certain sequences from the BBC show Peaky Blinders where we have often seen the Shelby family. Behind the closed doors of a bookmaker's den viewers have witnessed bottles of whiskey, guns, coins, notes and a smoky room full of well-dressed men with grooomed hairs and women going about their horse race betting.

On the same interview with Esquire, Steven Knight also recalled that when his mother was a small kid, she used to work as "a bookies' runner." The work involved moving around with "a basket of washing" where people would drop their bet money along with a paper with a codename of the particular horse running a race.

He further added:

"And she'd then take it to the bookie. It was all illegal, and the police didn't arrest kids."

Steven Knight's Birminghman roots played a major role in the making of the show. Having witnessed what we see on the BBC series firsthand, his experiences got him embedded into the story of the early 20th century where guns, bets and gangs ruled the society.

The true incidents are an inspiration in creating Cillian Murphy's iconic avatar Thomas Shelby. But hearing the stories growing up and realizing their intensity as a mature screenwriter, it all came out as "a natural drama" for Steven Knight.

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