Peaky Blinders creator to speak at lunchtime event.
Birmingham-born screenwriter and film director Steven Knight, creator of the successful television programme Peaky Blinders – the biggest BBC Two drama series of last year – is to be guest speaker at a Birmingham Press Club celebrity lunch on Friday 4th May.
“Steven is a talented award-winner whose creations are popular with audiences around the world and we are delighted that he has found the time in his busy schedule to address the Press Club,” said event organiser, Press Club director Kay Cadman.
The lunch will be held at Opus Restaurant, Cornwall Street, Birmingham. Tickets priced at £50 (inclusive of VAT) may be booked by completing an online form at www.birminghampressclub.co.uk
Peaky Blinders, following the lives of gangster-brothers in Birmingham, was first aired in 2013 and its fifth series will be screened next year. Since its launch it has increased in popularity, with audiences peaking at 3.6 million for the finale of series four.
“It just gets better and better,” said Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two. “It is such a distinctive, brilliantly crafted, beautifully acted series that Steven Knight, the production team and the exceptional cast have taken to another level. It is brilliant that such a broad, younger audience loves the series as much as we do at BBC Two. We can’t wait for the next series!”
Steven (pictured) already had a highly successful career before crafting Peaky Blinders, however. He wrote the award-winning screenplay for the film Dirty Pretty Things as well as writing the screenplays for several other movies, two of which he directed himself. He has also written and directed a number of episodes of television’s The Detectives in addition to creating the phenomenally successful Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which has been exported to 160 countries.
And just to reinforce the popularity of the TV series even more, a sell-out Peaky Blinders festival is set to take place in the West Midlands later this year – providing fans with the chance to live out the exploits of the Birmingham gang. For two weekends, September 7-8 and 14-15, the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley will be transformed into the streets of 1920s Birmingham.
