It's hard to imagine what Peaky Blinders will look like without Helen McRory's inimitable Aunt Polly.
But Aunt Polly, set to marry the man she loved, and her love story will not play out in the sixth and final season of the BBC series. The actress stepped back from the role before filming began in January 2021 because of a private battle with breast cancer. In April, she died at the age of 52.
The tough and complex character played an integral role in the series, as she was the glue that held the Shelby family together. And after five seasons, Aunt Polly was close to getting her version of a happy ending following multiple near-death encounters and heartbreaks. Helen just wasn't able to film that part of Polly's life before she died.
Now, co-star Cillian Murphy is sharing how her death was a devastating blow to the cast. "We were just reeling throughout the whole thing," he told British Esquire in an interview published Tuesday, Feb. 1. "She was a dear, dear pal and she was the beating heart of that show, so it felt very strange being on set without her."
And while losing a loved one is never easy, "The difficult thing to comprehend is that, if it wasn't for COVID, there would be a whole other version of this show with Helen in it," he said. "But she was so private and so f--king brave and courageous."
Cillian shared that Helen's death and "loads of different reason" made for a bittersweet final season. As he told the magazine, "It wasn't a very pleasant shooting experience."
And while Helen will be featured in the final series, thanks to creator Steven Knight, her absence was still felt immensely. "I still can't believe she's not here," he explained. "It doesn't make sense. I've never lost anyone like that—who was young and a friend. It was very confusing. But she was magnificent. She was an absolutely magnificent person."
Of course, he's not the only one grieving this loss. Helen's husband, Damian Lewis, recently honored her during a poetry reading at the A Poet for Every Day of the Year. During the event, he shared the story of English poet John Dennis, who is credited for coming up with the phrase "steal my thunder." As he discussed the poet, Damian said, "One person whose thunder absolutely would not be stolen was Helen McCrory. You could try, but it wouldn't work."
The actress is survived by Damian and their two sons, Manon, 15, and Gulliver, 14.
Peaky Blinders premieres on BBC One in February.