Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has disclosed he abandoned a major twist that would have seen the return of Tom Hardy’s legendary character Alfie Solomons.

The Venom star played the Jewish cockney crime boss of Camden from the hit drama’s second series onwards and maintained a complicated relationship with the Birmingham gangsters.

Following being shot in the head by Tommy Shelby (played by Cillian Murphy) on Margate beach, Alfie makes fleeting appearances in the fifth and sixth series of the hit BBC programme.

Some fans may have been let down that Hardy didn’t feature in Netflix’s new film The Immortal Man, which sees Tommy returning to Small Heath to confront his estranged son, Erasmus ‘Duke’ Shelby (Barry Keoghan), who has assumed control of the gang.

Nevertheless, Knight has since disclosed he originally contemplated the prospect of Alfie making an appearance – and it would have been a substantial twist on the fate of the character, reports the Mirror.

“I had an idea, which I haven’t really spoken about,” he shared with the Hollywood Reporter.

“Ever since he was shot on the beach at Margate [in season four], you’ve only ever seen Tommy and Alfie together alone.”

The fifth series reveals that Alfie had in fact survived the gunshot wound to the face after Hardy lobbied Knight to bring him back.

However, as Tommy frequently sees the spectres of his past, including the enduring image of his first wife Grace (Annabelle Wallis), Knight briefly contemplated revealing that Solomons was merely another phantom with whom Tommy had been communicating.

“I thought, maybe [Alfie] appears, and we realise he’s been dead all that time,” Knight continued.

“Now, I nearly did that, and I didn’t do it, but that was a thought.”

Hardy’s hectic schedule may have also influenced Knight’s decision not to reintroduce him, as the actor has recently been shooting the Paramount+ crime drama MobLand since the conclusion of Peaky Blinders.

Fortunately, there remains a possibility, albeit a slim one, that fans could witness Alfie’s return alongside some other Peaky favourites as the series is set to return for at least two more seasons on Netflix and the BBC.

Knight confirmed that Duke will be featuring in the forthcoming sequel, which is set in post-WWII Birmingham, though it’s currently uncertain if Keoghan will be reprising the role.

He also hinted: “Some of the characters that are in [The Immortal Man] will appear in that. But I’m under strict instructions not to talk about it except to say that it’s happening.”

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is available to stream on Netflix.