Finn Shelby

Finn Shelby
Biographical information
Born	1908 (aged 18)
Origin	Small Heath, Birmingham, England
Allegiance	Shelby Family Peaky Blinders
Relationships
Parents	Arthur Shelby Sr. (deceased), Mother (née Strong) Polly Shelby (aunt)
Siblings	Tommy Shelby Arthur Shelby John Shelby Ada Thorne Michael Gray (cousin)
Appearance information
Series	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
First seen	Episode 1.1
Appeared in	11 episodes
Portrayed by	Alfie Evans-Meese (Series 1) Harry Kirton (Series 2-5)

Finn Shelby is the youngest of the Shelby siblings and a member of the Peaky Blinders.

Character History

Background

Finn Shelby, meeting his father Arthur Shelby Sr.

Born in 1908, unlike his three older brothers, Finn did not fight in the First World War as he was not old enough to be recruited. Though he is a Peaky Blinder, his brothers often watch over his safety as he learns to fit better and grow into the role.

Series 1 · 1919

Finn is eleven years old and only has a minor role in the family business, with no real power. His aunt Polly often tries to shield him from the worst excesses of the Peaky Blinders.

Series 2 · 1921

Although Finn is older now, his brothers still shield him from the violence of their life, and he also evidently has trouble fist fighting, a quality that separates him from his older brothers as they are all naturally good at it.

At the day of the grand re-opening of The Garrison Pub, Thomas tells Finn to go get his brother Arthur Shelby Jr. to come to the event. After seeing Arthur's violent episodes many times, and with the suggestion from his brother Thomas, Finn introduces Arthur to a drug called Tokyo (cocaine), and tells him to only use it during race days and special occasions.

They take Finn with them to the Epsom races, where Arthur, John and the gang hold up their rival Sabini’s bookmakers and burn their licenses. However, Finn is only allowed to act as lookout.

Series 3 · 1924

Finn is 16 now but still kept away from a lot of the business by Arthur and John but is allowed to be present in the meeting with Vicente Changretta with Arthur, John and Isaiah. He also witnesses the murder of sister in law Grace Shelby and kills the killer with his brothers.

Series 4 • 1926

Since John's death, Finn is taking his first big steps in the family business. He also has lost his virginity to a low cost prostitute.

Relationships

Finn and his oldest brother Arthur

Arthur Shelby

Arthur Shelby is Finn's oldest brother and the one he is closest to out of the four. He and aunt Polly raised Finn when his mother died and his father abandoned the Shelby Family. Maybe this is the reason why Arthur tries so hard to keep Finn out of the illegitimate business. Arthur and Finn are first seen together in Season 2, at the day of the grand re-opening of The Garrison Pub.

Thomas Shelby

Thomas Shelby is Finn's second oldest brother. Tommy rescued Finn from his car when he was younger after a hand grenade was put in it by the Lee's. Finn tells Tommy he was just pretending to be him, but Thomas warns him after the booby trap explodes that that is exactly the reason why he should never pretend to be like him. When Finn is older, Thomas allows him to stay for a family meeting of business, while normally he would never be included as Polly wanted to protect him from it. Finn admires his brother, aspiring to be like him and be a part of the Peaky Blinders.

Aunt Polly

Polly Gray is Finn's paternal aunt. Due to the death of his mother, abandonment of his father, and his brothers going off to war, Aunt Polly has been the sole care-taker of Finn. Polly is very protective of the youngest Shelby, and this may be further exaggerated by the loss of her own children, Michael and Anna. Polly is very vocal about her disapproval of Finn's role within the Peaky Blinders and butts head with Tommy on this issue frequently.

John Shelby

John Shelby is Finn's third oldest brother. John is often seen giving Finn a hard time. Whether giving him a shove, cuffing him upside the head, or taking a drink from his hand, John likes to flex his older-brother privilege on the only brother he is able to. This might also be amplified by their closeness in age, as Finn is much further removed from Arthur and Thomas, who seems to act more paternally to their youngest sibling.

Appearances

Series 1 Appearances
Episode 1.1	Episode 1.2	Episode 1.3	Episode 1.4	Episode 1.5	Episode 1.6

Series 2 Appearances
Episode 2.1	Episode 2.2	Episode 2.3	Episode 2.4	Episode 2.5	Episode 2.6

Series 3 Appearances
Episode 3.1	Episode 3.2	Episode 3.3	Episode 3.4	Episode 3.5	Episode 3.6

Series 4 Appearances
The Noose	Heathens	Blackbird	Dangerous	The Duel	The Company

Quotes

"When did either of you two do a days work?" - Finn to Arthur and John

Image Gallery

Thomas, Arthur, Finn Shelby an the Peaky Blinders

Promotional image

Finn Shelby in Series 5 promotional image