“I am a horse”

Horses played a central role in the hit TV series Peaky Blinders. We met the show’s creator, Steven Knight, to discover more about his childhood surrounded by horses, how his daughter’s passion for horse welfare has rekindled his connection with these magnificent animals and what’s next for one of the world’s most celebrated screenwriters.

---

Dad was a farrier so, growing up, our house was always full of horse stuff – much to my mum’s displeasure, there was horsehair everywhere!

I’m the youngest of seven boys and my dad wanted us all, really, to become blacksmiths. I was involved from about the age of nine until my early teens – I used to take the shoes off, make the shoes and keep the fire going. My dad had an old-fashioned forge with a handle I turned. I loved it – I absolutely loved it. For a kid, having a West Bromwich police horse three times your size turn up in your yard was mind-blowing, and my dad would say “take his shoes off” and I did. That was our life. He’d get us to bring the horses in and ride them and it was never a case of being taught to ride – it was like walking for us – it was assumed we could do it and we did.

My dad started shoeing horses for the Co-op in Birmingham – almost on an industrial level, back when horsepower fuelled industrial Birmingham. After the war, he moved to Mildenhall in Wiltshire where the Romany gypsy communities kept his business thriving. I should really write a TV series about it. It sounded idyllic but it was a hard life for Romanies and for my parents. When I was born, we moved back to Birmingham and dad worked in factories until I was about seven and he went back to shoeing. Only one of my brothers joined him and he has only just recently retired.

For years I didn’t maintain a connection with horses but the connection that sustained was the amazing memories. Most kids weren’t taken out of school to shoe horses and that stays with you. I remember we used to go to a scrap metal yard to shoe horses. We’d open up these massive gates and we’d be immediately transported back to a forgotten Victorian era where people were cooking on fires. This was a relic of a forgotten age and completely inspired Peaky Blinders. Women were the powerhouses of these communities – I remember my dad teasing me one day telling me to pick up a massive bag of horseshoes – I couldn’t even move it! This woman appeared and just swung it over her shoulder. Horses were relevant to society in those days because they were central to most people’s world.

I was encouraged by an English teacher at school, so from the age of eleven I began writing and haven’t stopped since. I went off to university and my life took a very different path, so I hadn’t ridden for decades until my daughter became interested. Our home has become a bit of retirement place for horses who have done amazing things – eventers, racehorses, even one who used to pull gun carriages in the Army. We have some land and just let them roam and enjoy life. We’ve also got Shetlands and there’s something special about seeing them out of the window.

We need to keep horses relevant in today’s society if we are to protect their welfare. Being around horses has such a positive effect on people who have difficulties – especially young people. It’s quite amazing. There’s a unique friendship and fellowship in communities who have horses. There’s a woman who comes to our farm to help with the horses and in the middle of winter when it’s dark and pouring with rain she’s totally committed to doing what needs to be done for the horses. There has to be something deeper to motivate someone to care for an animal that’s no longer a necessity in their life – she’s driven because of that unique connection. I love the fact that Britain is a country where horses are almost considered sacred – there’s a definite connection between people and horses and that is a good thing.

‘The horse’ in Peaky Blinders is a status symbol. ‘The horse’ is a constant reminder that these people are ‘other’ but ‘also the same’ – so when the viewer sees the character Tommy Shelby doing ruthless and vicious things to people, they then see the tenderness and compassion he shows towards his horses. My dad once said, “I am a horse” and that stayed with me. For Tommy there’s a world before the war and after the war. Before the war he lived a bucolic life with his horses and the war took that away.  

Will there be more projects featuring horses? I can’t announce it here but there’s a project I’m about to embark upon and yes, horses and the world of Romanies will feature heavily. I think I’ve just announced it first to World Horse Welfare!

---

Did you know? Steven is one of three creators of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and also the creator of SAS: Rogue Heroes. We look forward forward to discovering more about Steven’s next project and watching it when it’s released.