The Immortal Man Pays Tribute To Helen McCrory’s Polly

The continuation of the Peaky Blinders series, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, paid tribute to a fan favorite character who wasn’t part of the 2026 feature film. Premiering in 2013 on BBC Two in the UK, Peaky Blinders ran for six seasons before concluding in 2022. Even to this day, the series is remembered for its unforgettable characters, gritty tone, and distinctive musical and visual tone.

Initially, there was a plan for Peaky Blinders to conclude Tommy Shelby’s story with a seventh and final season. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the installment was delayed, and the idea of finalizing the show’s events with a film was born. While we see some fan-favorite characters in the Peaky Blinders movie, one is noticeably missing, but The Immortal Man pays tribute to her.

What Happened To Polly Gray In Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders is an excellent series, partly because of Polly Gray. The matriarch of the Shelby family, Polly was a formidable force with an astute business acumen that ensured the family’s economic pursuits ran smoothly. In fact, she was one of the few people in the show who didn’t cower whenever Tommy pointed his icy stare at her.

In Peaky Blinders season 6, Polly was tragically killed off-screen as payback from the IRA due to Tommy’s attempt to assassinate Oswald Mosley. As a core member of the Peaky Blinders cast, her death was a huge blow for the series, particularly Tommy, who relied upon her to keep him on a somewhat “straight” path.

On April 16, 2021, Polly Gray actress Helen McCrory died after a battle with cancer. Given her character’s significance to the show, the creators of the crime drama felt that replacing her wasn’t an option. Instead, she was killed off-screen in the final season of the series.

How Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Incorporates Helen McCrory’s Polly Through Tommy Shelby

Polly was the most important person to Tommy, and her voice of reason usually brought him back from the edge. So naturally, her death was a devastating blow. But just because she wasn’t physically present with the Peaky Blinders antihero doesn’t mean her influence on him wasn’t there.

Throughout Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, Tommy constantly battles with the ghosts of his past. So when Rebecca Ferguson’s Kaulo, a psychic who claimed to talk to people who have passed on, walked into his life, he was wary about her intentions. Tommy’s hesitation when it came to Kaulo wasn’t just because she seemed like she was taking advantage of his grief.

Before Aunt Polly passed on, she had warned Tommy about a blackbird that would signal his death. In the early scenes of the movie, Kaulo reveals her association with a blackbird. So from that moment forth, Tommy knew he should be careful around the psychic because of what the appearance of a blackbird meant.

How Rebecca Ferguson’s Peaky Blinders Character Honors Polly

Although Tommy was the most feared character in Peaky Blinders, it was truly Polly who held all the cards. For five seasons, the Shelby matriarch cemented her place as a force to be reckoned with and continued to do so even from beyond the grave. Kaulo, while different in many ways from the beloved Polly, honored her in The Immortal Man.

Like Polly, Kaulo was spiritually inclined and a strong female character. While Polly will never return to the Peaky Blinders franchise, Kaulo echoes who she was: a woman who loved her family and did everything to protect them. While speaking to ScreenRant’s Liam Crawley, Rebecca Ferguson shared her view on the legendary Polly.

Rebecca Ferguson: “[Kaulo] was so perfectly described on the page, and then obviously you put your own flair to it. But I think the moment I read the line that Tommy says, ‘You never thought that a bird was going to fly in.’ He compared it to saying, ‘I didn’t think that there was going to be another person like Polly, but behold, here she is.’ With that came the complements, but also there’s a sizzle of understatement of power of the unpredictability.

To be honest, I didn’t watch all six seasons. I have only two seasons to go off. I think [Polly’s] character was so phenomenal, and I think she represented so much that was important to be able to weigh up this sort of gritty texture of the characters of the men, and she just held it steady. She was the matriarch. I loved the dynamic between Tommy and her. It was always the unsaid. I think that definitely, I think subconsciously, was there. And not a homage, but there’s something… I could never be what she did, ever. But if you can just hold a percentage of it, I think it’s important for this film.”

In her own way, Kaulo paid tribute to Polly because of the influence she exerted on Tommy and his relationship with his son. The Peaky Blinders franchise has long placed emphasis on strong female characters, so it’s heartwarming that this tradition continued with Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man and will hopefully go on in the Netflix sequel series.