The sudden death of actress Helen McCrory, the iconic Aunt Polly, in April 2021 was a devastating blow to the cast and crew of the hit series Peaky Blinders. While the entire production was distraught, actor Paul Anderson, who portrays the troubled older brother Arthur Shelby, felt the loss most acutely. He has since confessed that the real-life tragedy bled directly into his character’s arc, transforming his Season 6 performance into a painful chronicle of authentic grief.
Anderson’s tearful confession—”She wasn’t just Aunt Polly, she was my anchor”—highlights the depth of their off-screen bond. McCrory was Paul’s closest friend on set, a veteran presence he relied on to help him stay calm during the emotionally intense and often chaotic scenes that defined the Shelbys’ lives. She brought a stabilizing force to the production, particularly aiding Anderson in portraying Arthur’s escalating struggles with PTSD, rage, and addiction throughout the series. Her presence was his professional compass.
When McCrory passed away, Anderson was profoundly devastated. Her absence from the final season necessitated writing her character, Elizabeth “Polly” Gray, out of the narrative by having her killed off-screen. This narrative decision allowed the show to directly address the real-life tragedy, and the ensuing fictional grief was palpable.
The first episode of Season 6, “Black Day,” features The Final Scene No One Dares to Rewatch: a silent, raw funeral sequence for Polly Gray. As her caravan is set alight in the traditional Romani fashion, the anguish displayed by the Shelby family is unmistakable. Co-star Sophie Rundle (Ada Thorne) confirmed that the tribute was “all real, that emotion. It really was a moment to think about her and what she had been.”
For Paul Anderson, the scenes of Arthur’s suffering in Season 6 weren’t merely acting. With the loss of Polly, his last moral compass, Arthur descends further into a spiral of alcohol and opium addiction. Critics noted that Anderson’s portrayal of Arthur’s deep depression—often appearing physically and emotionally ravaged—felt less like a performance and more like a visceral reaction to losing the close co-star he deeply admired. He admitted that he “was falling apart, not performing.”
The devastating, nearly three-minute silent sequence of the funeral culminates with the camera panning over the main cast as the caravan burns. The sheer devastation on Paul Anderson’s face, conveying Arthur’s profound shock and loss, is a visible testament to the loss of his on-screen mother figure and his most essential real-life friend. Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight ensured the final season served as a tribute to McCrory, but for Anderson, that final, tearful scene will forever be the moment his character grieved his closest anchor.