Airdate: The Real Peaky Blinders

Two-part feature documentary The Real Peaky Blinders on SBS explores the origins of the Peaky Blinders – the street gang phenomenon in Birmingham at the end of the 19th century that was put down by strong policing and social reforms.

Peaky Blinders has also been a hit drama by writer Steven Knight.

Part One: Street Fighting Gangs
Part one explores the origins of the real Peaky Blinders phenomenon in Birmingham from the first mention of the term in the popular press in 1890 and the street gangs that stretched back into the Victorian era as far back as the 1860s when they were known originally as slogging gangs.

Through the experiences of several individuals, who we learn about through court and press reports, we build up a picture of the gang movement that has its roots in the working classes areas where territorial loyalty was all and gambling was a national pastime, driven underground by Victorian middle-class morality. We follow the work of Professor Carl Chinn as he uncovers the stories of the real Peaky Blinders. We also interview several renowned experts on the gang phenomenon and Steven Knight, the writer of the Peaky Blinders drama, who based the series on his own family’s anecdotes.

Thursday, 12 May at 8.30pm on SBS.