Peaky Blinders viewers in tears after heart breaking tribute to Polly in first episode

Virgin Radio

28 Feb 2022, 11:38

“The passing of Polly Gray couldn't have been scripted any better, a perfect tribute to the great Helen McCrory.”

After the passing of Helen McCrory, who played the matriarch Polly Gray or ‘Aunt Pol’, it was always going to be a bittersweet one, and fans were heartbroken over the touching tribute they gave her in the first episode.

The series picked off where it left us, and Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) is informed over the phone that their beloved aunt Pol has been killed.

Her body is then sent to his home, and the family gives her the send-off she deserved in a beautiful but devastating funeral scene.

After panning across their tear-stained faces, the camera focuses on the smoke billowing from the blazing fire and follows it into the air, where we see Polly’s eyes looking down on her family from the sky.

We didn’t get the usual Red Right Hand theme song here, but instead, a more fitting silence interrupted only by the sound of birdsong.

Of course, fans of the show found the tribute heartbreaking but fitting for one of the show’s most beloved characters and, of course, one of the UK’s most talented actresses.

Taking to Twitter, one person wrote: The passing of Polly Gray couldn't have been scripted any better, a perfect tribute to the great Helen McCrory. It takes an incredible cast to have the courage to act out those scenes and they did her proud. Brilliant first episode. #PeakyBlinders”

Another said: What a beautiful tribute to the late Helen McCrory - aunt Pol. The birdsong at the end 💔 An absolute icon, Queen and the heartbeat of Peaky Blinders.”

A third added: “Peaky blinders won't be the same without Aunt Polly. The end credits was heartbreaking and a fitting farewell to Helen McCrory.  You'll be forever on our hearts, gypsy queen! 💔”

Cillian Murphy, who plays Tommy Shelby in the series, previously paid his respects to the late actress

Speaking to The Guardian, he said: "She would have been in series six if the pandemic hadn’t put everything on hold.

"We were just five days away from shooting in March 2020 when the lockdown was announced. Helen was the heart of that show, and it was hard to make it without her. Really hard.

"There was this huge absence on the set. We all felt it. She died while we were shooting.

"She was too young. You can't help but think of all the amazing roles she would have had."

Peaky Blinders returns on 6 March at 9pm on BBC One.