Steven Knight on Peaky Blinders, Bond and A Thousand Blows – The Radio Times Writers’ Room

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Welcome back to The TopMob Writers’ Room!

We’re excited to welcome Steven Knight, a highly successful writer known for creating popular shows like Peaky Blinders, SAS Rogue Heroes, and House of Guinness.

Knight began his career in comedy, a field he hoped to revisit someday. He also played a key role in developing game shows, notably the hugely popular Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

He’s penned screenplays for well-received films like Locke, Spencer, and Maria, but he’s become most famous for his writing on several popular recent television dramas.

Perhaps the most famous example is Peaky Blinders, the hugely popular show with Cillian Murphy, which will continue as a film.

Knight shared the story of how he learned about the actual Peaky Blinders gang, explaining that his parents had told him about their own encounters with them when he was growing up.

This series is a prime early example of how committed Knight is to featuring Birmingham and the wider West Midlands in his art. He’s building on this commitment by creating his own studio complex, Digbeth Loc, in the area.

Knight is known for his work on several popular dramas, such as Taboo, two series based on the novels of Charles Dickens, SAS Rogue Heroes, and House of Guinness, among others.

During our conversation, Knight shared that several shows might be revived, including the potentially surprising return of Taboo, which originally aired ten years ago.

A lot will depend on how busy Knight is. Even though he’s a very productive writer, he can’t take on unlimited projects, especially since he’s currently focused on a major undertaking: writing the next James Bond film for director Denis Villeneuve.

Steven Knight’s boxing drama, A Thousand Blows, is back for a second season on Disney+. The series stars Malachi Kirby, Erin Doherty, and Stephen Graham, and tells the story of Hezekiah Moscow, a Jamaican immigrant who arrived in Britain in the 1880s with hopes of becoming a lion tamer, but whose dreams were quickly derailed.

He turned to underground boxing in London’s East End, a scene ruled by the famous fighter, Sugar Goodson.

Season 2 opens with Hezekiah and Sugar struggling after their past glory. Their lives are upended when Mary Carr, the notorious former leader of the all-female gang The Forty Elephants, unexpectedly returns.

Determined to get her position back, she convinces Sugar to get sober and then hesitantly teams up with Hezekiah to execute a daring and dangerous scheme.

During our conversation, Knight discussed the changes in the new season compared to the first, and shared details about how he writes and works with some of the UK’s most popular celebrities.

He shared a few of his most beloved writing moments and spoke about the challenges facing UK television funding. He expressed optimism that the government is beginning to understand the importance of investing in the arts.

Funding can be unpredictable, with periods of increase and decrease,” Knight explained. “I believe we need to recognize how talented everyone in the film industry is – from the crew and actors to the producers and directors.

Our country creates exceptional films and TV shows, and I believe the government recognizes this – thankfully, the current administration truly understands and is actively supporting the industry, which is fantastic.

We should focus our investments on areas where we already excel, much like countries prioritize sports at the Olympics. For example, the UK is a world leader in film, television, and music, and it’s encouraging to see the government starting to invest more in these creative industries.

Watch the complete video at the beginning of this article, and stay tuned for future visits to The TopMob Writers’ Room.

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We’ll be speaking with Chris Chibnall next time – he used to run Doctor Who and created the show Broadchurch, and he’s also written for series like Torchwood and Law & Order UK. He’ll be discussing his new Netflix series, Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, so be sure to tune in!

While you wait, you can also revisit our past interviews with Mark Gatiss, Harry and Jack Williams, Noah Hawley, and Neil Cross.

You can now watch season 2 of A Thousand Blows on Disney+. Subscriptions to Disney+ start at just £5.99 per month.

Don’t miss ‘A Thousand Blows’! Add it to your watchlist on the TopMob ‘What to Watch’ app. Download the app today for daily TV suggestions, exclusive features, and more.

Authors

James HibbsDrama Writer

James Hibbs writes about TV dramas for TopMob, covering shows on streaming services and traditional channels. Before becoming a writer, he worked in public relations, first at a business-to-business agency and then at Fremantle, a major international TV production company. He has a BA degree in English and Theatre Studies, as well as a Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.

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2026-01-09 11:35