Flat caps and flapper dresses: Peaky Blinders fans dress to impress at Black Country Museum – in pictures
It was flat caps and flapper dresses as Peaky Blinders fans stepped back into the roaring twenties at the Black Country Museum.
The popular museum, which was used for filming the hit BBC television series, hosted its special Peaky Blinders Nights this weekend.
Thousands of fans dressed up to the nines as they stepped into the shoes of the Shelby clan and into the murky world of 1920s Birmingham and Black Country gangsters.
Street theatre actors – the Black Country Players – brought the world of the Peaky Blinders and the gang warfare to life with live theatre throughout the weekend.
Visitors strolled around scrap metal business Charlie's Yard, which has been used to film scenes for the show.
Elsewhere there was live music, dancing, market stalls and street food which helped transform the museum, along with period ships and houses.
Around 2,000 tickets had been snatched up by fans for the Peaky Blinders Night on Friday and Saturday – while the themed-evenings will also return next weekend with another sold-out two nights on September 13 and 14.
Couple Hester Rowley, from Burntwood, and Tom Heydon, from Norton Canes, attended the evening with their family for the second time.
Hestor, 21, said: "I am a big fan of the show. This is the second time we have been to the Peaky Blinders Nights and it is great to experience everything as it used to be.
"We are really enjoying the new season of Peaky Blinders."
Nicola Wright, 48, from Dudley, said: "We came last year and it is just a fantastic night. You get to see acting snippets from the show and you really get into the atmosphere of the Peaky Blinders.
"I have been a big fan of Peaky Blinders since it started – and it brings Birmingham and Dudley in the light. Lots of people come to visit our Black Country Museum now because of the show. It's great."
Katie Baxter had travelled all the way to the Black Country from Bradford with her sister Nikkie Macmanara and friend Emma Wain especially for the Peaky Blinders Night.
The 35-year-old said: "We are massive Peaky Blinders fans and we just love the Black Country. It is the first time we have come to the event.
"Our nan was born in the years the show was based on and she's about to turn 100 which is amazing.
"What we have seen of the event here so far is amazing, it has really blown us away."
Ian Ryles, 32, from Tividale, said: "We have been to the events before and it is absolutely fantastic. Everyone really makes the effort to dress up."
Grant Bird, communications and marketing manager at the Black Country Museum, added: "The Peaky Blinders Nights are a major part of our events programme.
"The thing we love about them is that it brings lots of different people to the the museum – it has a really broad appeal. They can experience the museum in a totally different guise to the daytime.
"These events are always sell-outs – they are incredibly popular. We get people who are true Peaky fans, people who just want to get involved with that time they love the history and it is a way to really experience some living history from that time."
In November 2018, stars including Cillian Murphy, Paul Andseron and Helen McCrory returned to the Black Country Museum to film scenes for series five of the award-winning show created by Steven Knight – which is currently being shown on BBC1.
In previous seasons, the open air museum has been used to film scenes at Charlie’s Yard by the canal but with CGI used to add the huge factories in the background.
Other scenes include the shooting of Danny Wizz-Bang in season one, the whiskey deals boat trip down to London in season two and the party in season three where it was announced Arthur was to be a father.
