Polly's Past, Revealed (Season 1, Episode 6) Gazing down at Ada's newborn son Karl in his cradle, Polly tells her niece how her own children were taken by the police when they were 2 and 5 years old after a neighbor snitched on her for illegal dealings.
Victory came at a cost. John Shelby (Joe Cole) was killed in the vendetta, earning the family a Romany curse from his widow Esme. Polly's son Michael betrayed Tommy (or thought he had) and was sent away to America.
Anna Gray was the daughter of Polly Shelby and Mr. Gray. She was taken away from her mother by the parish authorities. She's never met her mother again and died in Australia.
Realizing that Thomas won't get Michael out of prison soon enough, Polly takes the matter into her own hands. Campbell offers to release Michael the next morning but only in return for a sexual favor. Polly agrees to this deal.
After recurring dreams of her daughter's death, Polly seeks answers about her children and their current whereabouts. This eventually leads her son, Michael, back to her. She quickly becomes affectionate with him, devoting her life to him.
So her absence would be felt no matter what decision was made, but ultimately, Knight shared, “the idea that Polly's alive but she's gone to America or something wasn't right.” Instead, the creator decided that killing her off was the more honorable thing to do and the death is revealed early on in the new season.
Her murder, which happened off-screen, was punishment for his machinations and meant to bring him to heel. Polly is given a Gypsy funeral, her caravan being set on fire with her body inside, and Michael swears to avenge her, blaming Tommy for her death.
But where a man might have resorted to violence, in Polly's words, “we women have more sense.” The two share a civilized drink, and even a laugh or two, before Polly lays out the facts. She knows what Grace has done, and she will never, ever forgive her — even if Tommy eventually does.
Michael Gray, was the son of Polly Gray and the cousin of the Shelby siblings. He becomes part of the Shelby family and the Peaky Blinders, starting out on the respectable and legal side of the family business, Shelby Company Limited.
In Peaky Blinders, Tommy Shelby and Polly Gray were seen half naked dressing each other up, presumably after sleeping together.
That suggests that Tommy's handing on a mixture of "you're up, kidda" business stuff and straightforward "I'm gonna die, kidda" stuff. Certainly, that's what the direction and editing hints at. We see young Charles, buttoned up in his grey coat, looking distinctly miffed.
The Peaky Blinders Cast and Crew Share Their Memories of Helen McCrory. The actress, who played Polly on the show, passed away last year at the age of 52.
Shelby is the mother of Thomas, Arthur Jr., John, Ada and Finn Shelby, and sister of Polly.
Polly Gray is Finn's paternal aunt. Due to the death of his mother, abandonment of his father, and his brothers going off to war, Aunt Polly has been the sole caretaker of Finn.
Michael (who'd been banished to the US two years earlier as punishment for not warning Tommy of the ambush he thought his mum Polly was plotting with Luca Changretta that turned out to be a ruse she'd plotted with Tommy) disobeyed Tommy's orders to cash in the Shelby Company investments and lost the family hundreds of ...
Karl Thorne was born in 1919, in Small Heath, to Freddie and Ada Thorne. Immediately after his birth, Freddie was arrested by local police, as a potential link to stolen guns in the area. He eventually escaped prison with the help of Ada's older brother, Thomas Shelby, and returned home to his family.
"Episode 2.2" is the second episode of second series of Peaky Blinders and the eighth episode overall. It aired on October 9, 2014.
Arthur Shelby Sr.
Turns out the elder Arthur had walked out on his family years before the start of the show, and the brothers were essentially raised by their Aunt Polly, since their mother was also long deceased. The absence of their father affected Tommy and his brothers in different ways.
William Arthur 'Billy' Shelby is the first child of Arthur and Linda Shelby.
Yet the worst act he has ever committed is forcing Polly to sleep with him to keep her son from spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Two years later, in 1924, Tommy and Grace get married. Meanwhile, a refugee from Russia, named Anton Kaledin (Richard Brake), makes contact with the Peaky Blinders, offering the code "Constantine" as confirmation for the money-exchange meeting with Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna (Dina Korzun).
During the time lapse, he committed suicide after knowing that Grace had an affair with Thomas. Stay up to date on your fandom with carefully curated and timely Fandom newsletters.
Aunt Polly was angry with Tom because he had manipulated her by lying to her about the dream.
In the end, the decision was made to kill off the character and this was done at the season's premiere. Aunt Polly was collateral damage from Tommy Shelby's attempted assassination of Sir Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin) which was thwarted by the IRA.
Tommy Shelby & May Carleton
Tommy, on his part, is very honest about his personal life, even admitting that he loves Grace more, something she is totally okay with.