Late metal legend Ozzy Osbourne was an inspiration for Helen McCrory's Birmingham dialect in Peaky Blinders 

Helen McCrory's Aunt Polly was an unforgettable part of Steven Knight's Peaky Blinders, which established her as a rare and commanding female force in a genre dominated by men.

While Cillian Murphy ruled the series as the titular Birmingham gang's leader Tommy Shelby, Aunt Polly called most of the shots. In addition to the late actress' flawless portrayal, she especially impressed audiences and critics with her thick Brummie accent.

Set in 1918's Birmingham, the series cast donned a pretty faithful accent that accentuated this partly fictional crime tale to new heights. Many fans might not know this, but McCrory was inspired by a Birmingham native for her iconic and faithful dialect in the show. As revealed by the late actress herself, she looked to heavy metal legend and singer Ozzy Osbourne to perfect her old Birmingham accent. The co-founder of Black Sabbath, who sadly passed away in July 2025, inspired Aunt Polly's accent in Peaky Blinders.

More on this in our story.

The Prince of Darkness inspired Helen McCrory's Birmingham dialect in Peaky Blinders

Interestingly, the late actress once revealed to The Daily Mail that her brum and rough accent was inspired by heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne. The Black Sabbath co-founder not only perfectly fitted the dark and grisly aesthetic of Knight's crime drama series, but he also grew up on the dusty Birmingham roads in 1948.

Hailing from the Aston area of Birmingham (the iconic setting of Peaky Blinders), Ozzy Osbourne was famously known for his 'hesitant Brummie' accent. The Brummie was earlier a distinct accent, particularly used to differentiate natives from the traditional accent of the adjacent Black Country. Revealing Osbourne's influence on her Peaky Blinders' accent, McCrory revealed:

''I sat and watched endless clips of Ozzy Osbourne. My character’s obviously Ozzy in a skirt.''

This small reveal speaks volumes about the late actress' reverence for her profession and how flawlessly she brought the character of Aunt Polly to life. While fans were essentially able to see Ozzy Osbourne's unmissable charm in Polly's accent, she also channeled his darkness into the character.

As the lead singer for Black Sabbath, Osbourne embraced the Victorian goth aesthetic and often dressed in shades of black, thus earning his famous nickname 'Prince of Darkness.' Aunt Polly's character also exudes gothic femininity, and McCrory perfectly brought the nuances of her layered character in Peaky Blinders.

Steven Knight's Peaky Blinders immortalized Birmingham

Peaky Blinders is not only iconic for that thick Brummie accent or stylish action sequences with guns and violence, but also because of its unique portrayal of Birmingham. Knight wanted to break the established stereotypes in the American Westerns and bring this West Midlands city on the map. The result? The surprising glamour of Birmingham, captured during the interwar years, when gang rivalry and guns were the norm.

Right from the accents, to the styling, and those dusty roads featured in the opening shots, Peaky Blinders feels like a haunting love letter to the city, long before legends like Jasper Carrott and Ozzy Osbourne were born. While Chicago and Texas were popular choices for filmmakers to set their American gangster sagas in, Knight introduced a new British powerhouse and immortalized the city of Birmingham forever.

Explaining his vision for the BBC series, he once revealed in an interview:

''I was trying to capture the wildness of the place – the guns, the violence, the tumult of politics and sex, the melting pot of race, the squalor and beauty of heavy industry.''

The iconic opening shot of Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby arriving on his horse amidst the sooty black Birmingham roads is now forever etched in people's minds, and Knight has been quite successful in his stylish makeover of the city.

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