Fans of Peaky Blinders have noticed the absence of several key characters in the new film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, now streaming on Netflix. Among those missing is Jeremiah Jesus, played by the late Benjamin Zephaniah, who died in 2023 at the age of 65 from a brain tumour.
Jeremiah Jesus appeared across all six seasons of the BBC series and was a close friend of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy), having fought alongside him in World War I. The character was last seen attending Polly Gray's funeral. According to the Peaky Blinders fandom page, Jeremiah also died before the events of the film.
Benjamin Zephaniah, a renowned poet and activist, was diagnosed with a brain tumour just eight weeks before his death. In a statement to Deadline, Cillian Murphy paid tribute: 'Benjamin was a truly gifted and beautiful human being — a generational poet, writer, musician and activist. A proud Brummie and a Peaky Blinder. I’m so saddened by this news. RIP.'
The Peaky Blinders Instagram account also expressed devastation at the loss, describing Zephaniah as 'a much-loved, instrumental, and influential part of the Peaky Blinders family from the very start.'
Zephaniah had previously told the Birmingham Mail that his character was based on a real-life figure from Birmingham who fought in WWI and chose to settle in the city. Although The Immortal Man marks the end of this iteration of the Shelby family, two further seasons of the BBC series are planned, focusing on new members of the clan.
