# Who is the best Peaky Blinders character?

> Razor-sharp crime bosses, tortured loyalists, and scene-stealing wildcards — Birmingham's finest gangland family has never been short of unforgettable personalities. Who runs Small Heath for you?

*By YPB Team · Published May 23, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-best-peaky-blinders-character*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Tommy Shelby**
   The cold, calculating patriarch of the Shelby crime family who built a small-time gang into a political empire through sheer ruthlessness and intellect.
2. **Arthur Shelby**
   The volatile eldest Shelby brother whose violent outbursts and moral struggles make him one of the show's most complex and tragic figures.
3. **Aunt Polly Gray**
   The sharp-tongued matriarch who ran the Shelby operations while the men were at war, wielding power with equal parts cunning and ferocity.
4. **Alfie Solomons**
   The unpredictable Jewish gangster played by Tom Hardy, who became one of the show's most beloved and quotably eccentric characters.
5. **Michael Gray**
   Polly's son who rose through the Shelby ranks before his ambitions put him on a dangerous collision course with Tommy.
6. **Ada Shelby**
   The only Shelby sister who rejected the family business and pursued her own political ideals, becoming a moral counterweight to Tommy's methods.
7. **John Shelby**
   The hot-headed middle Shelby brother whose loyalty and recklessness made him an unpredictable and beloved fan favourite.
8. **Inspector Campbell**
   The relentless RIC chief inspector sent from Belfast to clean up Birmingham, who became Tommy's most dangerous early antagonist.
9. **Luca Changretta**
   The Sicilian-American mafioso who brought a cross-Atlantic vendetta against the Shelbys in what many fans consider the show's most gripping season.
10. **Grace Shelby**
   The Irish spy who became Tommy's great love, whose complicated loyalties and tragic fate defined much of the show's emotional core.
11. **Lizzie Stark**
   A working-class woman who navigated the Shelby world on her own terms, eventually becoming Tommy's second wife and a surprisingly resilient presence.
12. **Billy Kimber**
   The loud-mouthed racetrack boss who became the Shelbys' first major adversary, setting the gang on the path toward real power.

Tags: tv shows, crime, peaky blinders, bbc