Peaky Blinders is all about family - but many fans are probably unaware that two major characters are brothers in real life.
Everyone remembers John Shelby, who was gunned down outside his own home by members of the Italian mafia in a shock revenge attack in series 4.
Shocked viewers of the hit BBC gangster drama were sad to see actor Joe Cole’s abrupt exit - having appeared from the very first episode in 2013 until 2017.
But it wasn’t the end of his family’s involvement in the show as John’s cousin, Michael Gray, is played Joe’s younger brother Finn Cole.
Finn joined the cast in series 2 as aunt Polly’s long-lost son before rising up through the ranks of the Birmingham-based gang to become chief accountant.
Joe, who is the eldest of five brothers who grew up in Kingston upon Thames in London, says there are parallels with the Shelby family as their home was a “madhouse” always full of people.
As the big brother, Joe felt responsibility for his younger siblings and helped him bag an audition for Peaky Blinders by speaking to his bosses.
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here .
“Finn always wanted to find his own path – he was very keen and showed a real energy and passion for acting,” Joe told Clash in 2014.
"He just kept nagging me. I batted him off, actually, but eventually I said, ‘I’ll talk to [the show’s producers] if you read the lines and you figure out the character and you learn the accent and you learn the scenes. You do the preparation, and I’ll film you doing it.’
"He put in the work and, credit to him, he worked very hard at it and he got his just desserts."
Finn admitted he hadn’t considered auditioning at first as he was still studying at school but decided to give it a go, although he couldn’t make the audition in person because he didn’t have enough money.
Finn explained: "He got the script through and we were chatting about it and reading them together and there was a character in there that was really cool and that I really liked.
"I never really had the intention of auditioning for it, I was still at college at the time doing my A levels and I had to concentrate on them.
"Then the following week after I had read it, I was in college and I was really bored and I just thought ‘you know what? I’m going to give Joe a call and see what he says’.
"If there’s any way of me auditioning for it that would be absolutely great and he said go up to Birmingham, they’re doing open auditions.
"I was looking for train tickets up to Birmingham and I had no money so I couldn’t do it, and then he called me back and said why don’t we just tape an audition and I’ll send it to my agent?"
The brothers taped Finn's audition and sent it to the casting director, who was impressed and offered him the part of Michael.
Joe continued to helped Finn while they were acting on, which was useful for Finn as he could ask his big brother all the questions that he felt 'embarrassed' to ask anyone else.
"Joe was really useful and those first-day-nerves went out of the window because he is someone that I could go and spend my time with and stuff so it was really good," added Finn.
Peaky Blinders isn’t the first time the pair have worked together, as the brothers both made their acting debut in 2012 film Offender.
Despite leaving the show a few years ago, Joe is still keen to know what’s going on and gets “little tidbits” from his brother.
"It's funny. We chat," he told Digital Spy in 2020. "I mean, not so much now, but I actually really enjoy watching that show as a spectator, more than when I was in it.
"When I was in it, I found it... obviously, it's more difficult to watch yourself. You've seen everything. You've been on set.
"So it's fun to watch that as an audience member now. And yeah, Finn does give me little tidbits. But I prefer just to watch it as a spectator now."
The actor also revealed that he has "nothing but positive feeling and gratitude for that show" and had "the most amazing time" working on it.
The brothers have actually been forced to compete this month as Peaky Blinders has clashed with Joe’s new show The Ipcress File.
In ITV’s mini-series adaptation of the Cold War thriller, Joe is re-creating the spy role made famous by Michael Caine in the 1965 film of the same name.
With Finn appearing on BBC One and Joe popping up on ITV, there has been a bit of rivalry between the siblings due to the schedule clash.
During an appearance on The One Show earlier this month to promote his new show, Joe took the opportunity to try and win his parents earlier.
"Yeah... actually this is my opportunity now, where's the camera,” asked Joe when questioned on the show clash.
"Mum and dad, if you're watching: The Ipcress File, ITV, 9pm. There we go."
Many Peaky Blinders fans have still not got over the untimely death of John Shelby - and Joe opened up about his exit from the show earlier this month.
Joe admitted he made the decision to walk because the gangster drama is 'Cillian Murphy's show’.
The actor claimed he 'never got out of the gates' when it came to playing John because he was in the shadow of Tommy Shelby.
Speaking to the Metro about his motivation to quit Peaky Blinders at the height of its success, Joe said: "With Peaky Blinders I never really got out of the gates in that role. It's Cillian's show really."
When offered his latest project by Sky Atlantic, Gangs of London, his first answer was a firm 'no’ because he didn’t want to get typecast.
Despite his reservations, Joe realised it 'could be something special' after reading the script and decided to sign up.
He continued: “I’ve spent the last few years turning down gang related shows because when a show does well you get offered quite a lot of them.
"I actually chose to leave Peaky Blinders because I wanted to explore new avenues, and new characters and new stories."
*Peaky Blinders airs tonight on BBC One at 9pm
Do you have a story to share? Emailwebfeatures@trinitymirror.com
