The BBC has announced that Jamie Bell will play the lead role of Duke Shelby in the new series of Peaky Blinders.
Duke Shelby is the son of Peaky Blinders crime boss Tommy Shelby, the iconic character portrayed by Cillian Murphy across six seasons and in the new spin-off film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Duke Shelby was played by Conrad Khan in the sixth season of Peaky Blinders, with Barry Keoghan taking over the role opposite Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Watch: Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan discuss Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man with RTÉ 2FM's Emma Power
Announcing the casting of Billy Elliot star Bell, the BBC said: "Steven Knight, creator and writer of global hit Peaky Blinders, reignites his world in two new series set in the 1950s, featuring the next generation of the Shelby family.
"Multi-award-winning actor Jamie Bell (All of Us Strangers, Rocket Man) will take the mantle of Duke Shelby in a story set ten years after the events of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
"In this new era of Peaky Blinders, a decade after World War Two, the race to rebuild Birmingham becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions.
"This is a city of unprecedented opportunity and jeopardy.
"At its blood-soaked heart is Duke Shelby (Jamie Bell): older, wiser, more ambitious, and most certainly more dangerous.
"Also confirmed to join the cast are Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things, Industry), Jessica Brown Findlay (Harlots, Downton Abbey), Lashana Lynch (The Day of the Jackal, No Time to Die), and Lucy Karczewski (Stereophonic) in her television debut."
The BBC said more details about the roles would be announced at a later date.
Filming on the new series is under way "in and around Digbeth Loc. Studios in Birmingham".
Peaky Blinders creator and writer Steven Knight added: "I am thrilled that we are announcing a new era of Peaky Blinders, moving the story to post-war Birmingham in the early 50s.
Watch: Peaky Blinders writer-creator Steven Knight (left) and director Tom Harper discuss Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man with RTÉ 2FM's Emma Power
"We are incredibly fortunate to have Jamie Bell taking the role of Tommy Shelby's oldest son, Duke, and to have Charlie Heaton also leading the cast.
"There are more exciting cast announcements to come, and Peaky is on the road again."
The two new series, each consisting of six episodes, will premiere on BBC One in the UK and Ireland and on Netflix globally.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is streaming now on Netflix.
