Has Tommy Shelby finally bitten off more than he can chew? Read our review of the first episode of the new Peaky Blinders series

You could be forgiven for questioning the methods of the writer of hit show Peaky Blinders when the first episode of a new season opens with characters you have come to love with nooses around their necks.

But have no doubt about the brilliance of Steven Knight, the man behind the widely-adored show that put the Black Country back on the map – for he knows exactly what he is doing.

See a trailer for the new season here:

Picking up the pieces of any season gone-by is never an easy task, but in its own wicked way that is the beauty of the Blinders series: It asks questions of its audience and, when it's ready, they are answered.

Would the Shelbys escape the jaws of death and re-band? And under what circumstances? Knight has us in the palm of his hand and he knows it.

If there's anything the first episode of season four wants us to know, it's that the gang is never too far from trouble, no matter how settled they may seem.

See our coverage – plus loads of pictures – from the premiere last night here

On the surface, lovable rogue Arthur seems a changed man. He's grown his hair out and he lives on a farm; his demons kept at bay by his wife and former Quaker Linda Shelby.

But underneath it all, we get the sense he is just as unimpressed with the idea of a tame Arthur Shelby as we are.

It's a joke about wife Linda not even letting him keep a spud gun in the house that lets on – he's itching to pound back some whiskey and pull a trigger. And oh, how that does excite us.

Take a quiz on Peaky Blinders here

But when the Shelby family is drawn back together, it's under the most unfortunate of circumstances – an issuing of a 'black hand' and a polite, handwritten warning from the Sicilian Mafia.

For all we know this could be the gang's last hurrah, with headman Tommy Shelby having finally bitten off more than he can chew. But boy, oh boy, we're in for a treat.

Season four promises everything the series has so far proven it can deliver – edge of the seat action, an engaging storyline, and every now and again one of those devastating and devilishly sneaky plot-twists.

Season four of Peaky Blinders returns on BBC Two on November 15.