The irrepressible Alfie Solomons will return to Peaky Blinders in its upcoming fourth series, but will he make it out alive?
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, series creator and writer Steven Knight revealed that Alfie has a rocky path ahead.
"Once again, he's going to be a friend and an enemy," Knight said. "You can't trust him, but you can trust him to behave like Alfie Solomons! And of course, Tom loves the role, and he really throws himself into it.
"It's just brilliant to have that presence in the series. But yeah, he's a big part of the series."
Hardy is expected to return as Alfie in series 4, episode 4, and Knight warned he "has quite a bumpy road ahead of him".
Knight also works with Hardy on BBC One's grimy thriller Taboo, which launched earlier this year and has been recommissioned for a second series.
That show cast Hardy as cannibal wild-man James Delaney, who the actor himself described as like "Bill Sykes, Sherlock Holmes and Hannibal Lecter, in one".
Discussing the differences between the two, Knight explained: "I wanted Taboo to be different in that it's more impressionistic. I wanted it to be a bit more dreamlike and detached, and also much more from the point of view from one person.
"Tommy (Cillian Murphy) obviously is the central character in Peaky, but you do see outside of him as well. Whereas with Taboo, it's more of one man's hallucination, if you like."
While we wait for the return of Peaky Blinders, and of Alfie Solomons, why not enjoy this superb Tom Hardy super-cut featuring his character's best grunts, growls and curses? F**king... f**king... cut the cabinet...
Peaky Blinders returns to BBC Two on Wednesday, 15 September at 9pm.
