The upcoming sixth season of BBC hit Peaky Blinders will be the last, the show’s creator has confirmed.

Although this may not be the end for the Shelby clan with creator and writer Steven Knight teasing that the story could continue in “another form”.

He announced the news in a statement confirming the hit drama would be returning on the official Instagram account for the show.

It said: “Peaky is back and with a bang. After the enforced production delay due to the Covid pandemic, we find the family in extreme jeopardy and the stakes have never been higher.

“We believe this will be the best series of all and are sure that our amazing fans will love it. While the TV series will be coming to an end, the story will continue in another form.”

The period crime drama, based in the cobbled streets of interwar Birmingham, resumed filming this week for the final season after the ongoing coronavirus pandemic caused production delays.

The sixth series, written by Knight, will conclude the saga of Cillian Murphy’s troubled Tommy Shelby and his family’s rise to power against the backdrop of industrial Birmingham.

Series five, which introduced Sam Claflin as the leader of the British Union of Fascists Oswald Mosley, ended with a cliffhanger and the Shelby family betrayed by their allies.

Executive producer for the BBC Tommy Bulfin said: “We are very excited that filming for Peaky Blinders has begun and so grateful to everyone for all their hard work to make it happen.

“Steve’s scripts for series six are truly remarkable and provide a fitting send-off which we are sure will delight fans.”

The news that the TV series will end with season six will come as a surprise to fans who would have expected more as was previously suggested by Steven Knight.

After winning a BAFTA for Best Drama Series in 2018 knight said: “My ambition is to make it a story of a family between two wars.

“So, I’ve wanted to end it with the first air raid siren in Birmingham in 1939. It’ll take three more series to reach that point.”

Brentwood Live: Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. (PA)Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. (PA)

It’s fair to presume we could be in for a hectic final season although there have long been rumours of a World War Two spin-off series or even a Peaky Blinders feature film.

While plot details of the final season have mostly been kept under wraps a few details have been teased including the promise that series six will pick up exactly where series five left off, with troubled protagonist Tommy Shelby holding a gun to his head.

Season five provided more questions than it did answers for viewers and we can’t wait to see what Tommy Shelby does next.