Grace, Peaky Blinders And Interesting Facts

As fans of Peaky Blinders await Season 6 of the British crime drama television, fans of a prominent female character, Grace Burgess are in confusion. 

Grace Burgess, who later became Grace Shelby started out as a strong and independent woman in Peaky Blinders season 1. Unfortunately, her role was cut short in Season 3 after being killed. 

Quite unexpectedly, she came back in Season 5 as a hallucination of one of the leads and took fans by surprise. Will she be back again in Season 6? And, what really happened to her? Why do her fans adore her? 

Before That, A Little Sneak Peek Into Peaky Blinders…

The series loosely revolves around the Peaky Blinders gang that was active in Birmingham in the 19th century. In the series, Tommy Shelby played by Cillian Murphy is the fierce leader of the gang comprised of other Shelby family members (Ada Shelby, Arthur Shelby, and Aunt Polly, to name a few) and their friends. 

Who Is Grace Shelby?

Image Source/Birmingham Mail

Played by Annabelle Wallis, Grace Shelby impressed the audience through her spy role in Peaky Blinders. 

Grace was an undercover agent for the Birmingham Police assigned to get close to Tommy Shelby. 

Working for Inspector Campbell played by Sam Neill, Grace goes into Tommy’s life as an Irish barmaid at The Garrison Pub frequently visited by him and other members of the gang. 

However, sparks flew when Grace and Tommy laid eyes upon each other in the bar. 

Soon, they fell in love with each other (both of their real-life partners are lovely!) and Grace earned Tommy’s trust. 

As a result, she was offered a job as the bookkeeper of Shelby & Co and to bring a touch of class to his meetings. 

Of course, managing the money of the Peaky Blinders made it all the more easy for her to spy on them. Until one day Tommy realised that Grace has been snitching on the Peaky Blinders. 

And it was time for Grace to say goodbye to Tommy and Birmingham. She headed to America. 

The Rekindling Of The Grace-Tommy Romance

Image Source/What’s On TV

After two years, Grace returned to London with her husband. Tommy and Grace cleared the air between them and it soon became obvious that they were still in love with each other. 

A passionate reunion resulted in Grace getting pregnant with Tommy’s child. 

Season 3 of Peaky Blinders revealed that the couple were married and Grace had given birth to a boy named Charles Shelby. Her ex-husband committed suicide, making it easier for Grace and Tommy to plan their lives together. 

However, they never got a chance at happily ever after. Grace Shelby died. 

What Happened To Grace Shelby? 

Image Source/The Sun

Grace Shelby was shot dead. She was killed by an Italian assassin by order of Vicente Changretta. 

She got in the way and took the bullet aimed at Tommy.

Tatiana Petrovna warned Tommy that Grace was wearing a cursed necklace a few moments before the unfortunate event took place.

Despite trying to convince Grace to take the necklace off, Tommy failed. 

Grace’s death caused great pain to Tommy and he grieved for a long time after her death. 

Hold On, Grace Came Back…

Image Source/Metro

As Tommy’s hallucination in Season 5. Grace returned from the dead to comfort a very battered and traumatised Tommy. 

She comforted him saying, 

“You have to listen to the voices that you hear. Do what they tell you to do. You don’t even have to rub the lamp anymore to summon the genie.”

Now, On To The Interesting Facts About Grace, Her Death And Peaky Blinders!

According to the writer and creator of Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight, Grace’s death was crucial for Tommy’s ending in the series.

“The point with Grace as that if she had lived, Tommy would have been happy. He wasn’t meant to be happy.”

Image Source/The Independent

According to Cillian Murphy who played Tommy, Grace was the beacon of light in Tommy’s life.

“I think the pre-war Tommy smiled and laughed a lot. He wanted to work with horses, he was very romantic.

“All of these things – you see scratches of them throughout the show and there are times when he feels he is getting towards some sort of healing when he’s with Grace.

“And then it’s taken away again and he retreats back into that kind of shell emotionally.”

Her death on-screen came as a surprise to Annabelle Willis.

She said,

“I found out just before we started the season, I was surprised, I have so many friends so obsessed with the show, so I’ve had all these theories thrown my way of how ‘there’s no funeral’ or ‘he’s done it to protect her’. 

“Some people are so devastated by her death that I’ve had to give them hope. So I’m just gonna go ‘maybe’ and hold onto my conspiracy theories.”

What Do Fans Think Of Grace Shelby And Her Untimely Death?

Image Source/Peaky Blinders Wiki Fandom

“She brought out another side of Tommy that we don’t see anywhere else. She was the one who grounded him no matter how chaotic his business life went.

“With her gone, you can see him spiraling out of control and losing his mind. She was the love of his life and he won’t love anyone as much as her.”

“I really don’t understand why they put her to death. I think that it wasn’t necessary. She could have been a good member afterwards. Badly cause I was loving this couple and their love story.”

Looks like Annabelle Willis did justice to her character and Grace Shelly is adored by the audience!