Peaky Blinders star, sterne Cillian Murphy reveals his guilty pleasure is watching Dragons' höhle, den 

Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy reveals his guilty pleasure is watching Dragons' Den

The actor is to begin filming a new series of Peaky Blinders in September

Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy has revealed his guilty pleasure – Dragons’ Den.

As Brummie gangster Thomas Shelby, Cillian strikes fear into the people of Small Heath. And now he reveals he is obsessed with the fiery, frightening entrepreneurs in the Den.

He has described the show as “unbelievably bizarre” but “really compelling”.

Speaking to the Radio Times, he said: “All these imposing men and women sitting around with plies of cash, destroying people’s dreams, with this ominous music in this bizarre warehouse.”

Murphy has narrated the BBC’s latest natural history series, Atlantic.

He is one of many famous voices supporting the campaign to keep the BBC licence fee.

Dragons\' Den: Sarah Willingham, Touker Suleyman, Deborah Meaden, Nick Jenkins and Peter Jones.

“Paying our licence fee gives the viewer more power, over what the BBC puts out.

“And giving the BBC freedom from advertising and keeping it as independent as it can be is a good thing.”

Cillian has signed up for a third series of the hit BBC2 drama Peaky Blinders which starts filming in September.

He reveals that it will be set in the mid to late 1920s. He supports creator Steve Knight’s ambition to take the drama about Birmingham gangsters up to at least 1939.

He says: “I know that Steve is keen for Tommy to be seen as the first air-raid sirens go off for the Second World War.

“I would embrace that as long as the writing stayed strong.

“What is changing on this side of the pond is that we’re being given time to let characters evolve over four or five series, which wasn’t always the case before.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

Peaky Blinders: Tom Hardy to return for third series with more filming in Birmingham

Peaky Blinders\' creator Steven Knight says filming to start in September 2015 with more scenes shot in Birmingham

Peaky Blinders walking tours to launch in Digbeth

CircusMASH Challenge gives Birmingham families the chance to test out their circus skills

Look at Frank Skinner painting a horse - while riding a horse

Wacky Marvel Heroes inspired fashion by Birmingham student hits London catwalk

Richard Hammond treks deep into the jungle to shoot animals

I knew you were trouble... Taylor Swift relaxes concert picture rules after Walsall photographer's protest

Patrick Kielty: I want my child with Cat Deeley to have her looks and my accent

Spot the Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers as you've never seen them before

Live: Birmingham and West Midlands breaking news, traffic, sport and weather

Telecoms engineer dies from injuries after being hit by car in Wolverhampton

14 joyous stages every Birmingham driver goes through when they realise the schools are off

Khan Vengeance: Aston Martin DB9 gets £300k makeover for limited edition model

Are we nearly there yet? Seven ways to avoid the kids' car travel questions

Motorcyclist seriously injured in Castle Bromwich crash

On This Day - West Brom's King leaves the club after almost a decade of service

Conmen gang charged over huge courier fraud operation

Is there something happening in your area you would like us to report on?

Tell us about it and, if possible, send us a picture

We reach over 2,871,244* unique users a month with dedicated coverage of Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Over 66% of our visitors, who view over 4m* page impressions every month, are in the desirable ABC1 socio-economic groups.

To book an advert with the Birmingham Mail team call 0121 234 5000, email charlotte.wallbank@trinitymirror.com or visit the Trinity Mirror Midlands website for more information.

The Birmingham Mail is part of Trinity Mirror Midlands, offering you unique access to our audience across the region online and in print.

*Source: Omniture (UK 6 month average August \'14 - January \'15)

Marc Reeves has edited the Birmingham Mail since December 2014.

He is also a past editor of the Birmingham Post, as well as several other titles across the country in a 25-year career in the regional press.