From the beginning, Tommy has struggled with what we now understand as post-traumatic stress disorder, stemming from his time in World War I. In Season 6, he suffers from seizures, with his body reflecting the inner turmoil wrought from fighting at home and abroad.
He is informed by Doctor Holford (Aneurin Barnard) that he has tuberculoma and has at best, a year and a half to live. He is certain now that his death is imminent.
However, he soon fell ill himself, staggering out of the doctor's office and throwing up. He hid his sudden sickness from Lizzie, simply saying that he was tired after barely sleeping. Tommy wasn't able to keep up the pretence for long though, as that evening he suffered from a seizure.
If you've ever noticed that Shelby never eats on the show, that's because it was an accidental choice that later turned into an intentional decision. Once fans noticed this quirk, Murphy and Knight decided to turn it into a “Tommy thing,” which added to the character's obsessive industriousness.
Cillian Murphy, who plays Tommy, was asked about this very topic during an interview with BBC Radio One. The actor explained: "That comes from the fact that the cigarettes, we cut the filter off or do we leave the filter on I cannot recall, but anyway if you don't rub them across your lips initially, they will stick.
The whiskey that is drunk in Peaky Blinders is the Gallglennie Whiskey. However, this whiskey does not really exist but it was invented by the makers of the series. By the way, the actors do not drink real whiskey during the filming. Instead of whiskey they use tea.
“There were these rose cigarettes that are herbal – Steve (Knight) would joke they're one of your five a day.” Talking about he came to know about ending up smoking 3000 cigarettes, Cillian said, “I asked the prop guys to count how many I smoked just out of interest, and they think it's something like 3,000.”
That whisper is the semi-public admission that Tommy is shaking his blood-stained hands with Duke, and expecting him to carry on his dark deeds.
Alas, the tests did reveal a growth in his brain stem that the doctor explains is called Tuberculoma. It is linked to tuberculosis but it is not infectious: this sure sounds like good news! While Tommy won't be passing this onto his loved ones, the precarious positioning of this benign tumour means it is inoperable.
The doctor informed the head of the Shelby clan that he has tuberculoma, a non-cancerous growth or tumour brought on by his daughter's illness. It isn't a brain tumour, but the symptoms – headaches, seizures, changes in brain function and behaviour – mimic the condition.
Aggressive outbursts, panic attacks, depression and night terrors were all symptoms of what was then know as shellshock, a condition more recently understood to be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
He had tuberculoma in his brain stem, a growth caused by the same bacteria as the lung disease, doubtless picked up from daughter Ruby (Orla McDonagh). It wasn't infectious but it was inoperable. The symptoms (seizures, dissociation, hallucinations, sharp cheekbones – I may have added the last one) chimed with Tommy's.
Lizzie is raising Ruby and Charles, but her marriage with Thomas is strained as he is still hallucinating Grace's ghost. Lizzie is tired of Thomas always being too busy with business for their family and debates divorcing him when she finds a lawyer in London who will represent her.
One of the major symptoms of PTSD is "recurrent, unwanted distressing memories or dreams of the traumatic event."[1] A number of characters in Peaky Blinders appear to suffer from it, the most notable ones being Thomas Shelby, Arthur Shelby Jr., and Danny Whizz-Bang.
Following an unsuccessful attempt on Arthur's life and Tommy's final outmanoeuvring of Changretta, Tommy confronts Alfie for his betrayal. Alfie reveals he knew Tommy would track him down for his actions, and that he has cancer and wishes to die on his own terms.
Thomas Shelby - INTJ
In the face of his personal struggles, Thomas maintains a calm and confident exterior, making him a capable leader and a fearsome enemy. He's a master manipulator, orchestrating events behind the scenes in order to achieve results. Ambitious, cunning, and independent, Thomas Shelby's MBTI® is INTJ.
“What he would be diagnosed with nowadays would be paranoid schizophrenia.” This lead to the dramatic ending of the series, which ended on the cliffhanger of Tommy holding a gun to his head before the screen cut to black.
He is always thinking a few steps ahead and he tends to plan everything very detailed. I would say his IQ is somewhere between 120 and 130.
“I think he's been carrying latent TB caught from Greta, infected Ruby four or five years ago, who also had a mild version,” the fan continued. “Ruby's recent fever which brought Tommy running home from America activated her dormant TB.
Because he failed the test set for him at Arrow House and chose his friend over his family.
From one brother to the other, Finn Shelby (Harry Kirton) is banished from the family for his role in bringing a traitor in Billy Grade (Emmett J. Scanlan) into the fold. Finn promises vengeance on Duke Shelby (Conrad Khan), Tommy's firstborn son and heir, ordering him banished by order of the Peaky Blinders.
At John's funeral, Polly is the most upset at Thomas for using his own brother's funeral as a trap, and walks away. She meets the hired hitman Aberama Gold for the first time.
Cillian Murphy smoked thousands of cigarettes every season.
Smoking is a big part of most scenes, and all of the cigarettes were real. "I asked the prop guys to count how many we use during a series and it's 3,000," Murphy told BirminghamLive.
Tommy Shelby has four tattoos that have appeared on screen. The most famous is the sunray design on his left breast. This was based on a real tattoo that had Jesus in the middle; but Tommy's not the religious type, so only the sunrays were used.