Natasha O’Keeffe opens up on how she “talked to” the late Helen McCrory on-set of the new BBC series, after she passed away
The untimely death of British actress Helen McCrory, left the nation shocked, after she lost her battle with cancer last April at the age of just 52. Fans, her loved ones and the cast of Peaky Blinders are all still grieving the terrible loss, with Natasha O’Keeffe revealing she sometimes found herself talking to her on-set of the latest series.
Helen, who played Aunt Polly in the hit BBC drama, won’t appear in the new season but creator Steven Knight, reassured fans they’ll see a tribute to the late actress.
Ahead of the premiere of the highly-anticipated instalment, the cast spoke about their grief.
Cillian Murphy, who plays Tommy Shelby, admitted the show “simply won’t be the same”.
And in a new interview with Radio Times, Natasha revealed her death “knocked us all back”.
The actress, who plays Tommy’s second wife Lizzie Stark, said: “There were some moments of happiness and laughter on set, but it was a very sad and surreal time.
“It’s hard to get your head around the fact that if filming hadn’t been delayed by Covid, Helen would have been in the sixth series.
“Aunt Polly was meant to be part of that story.”
She went on to explain she feels like Helen remained on set in a “spiritual” way.
“Sometimes I would find myself talking to her,” she smiled
“It wasn’t a conscious decision, more like an instinct.
“I felt the need to connect with her in some way and so I’d ask for strength or encouragement between takes.”
She added: “I also listened to Nina Simone in my trailer because I know Helen liked her.