Thomas Michael Shelby OBE DCM MM MP is a fictional character and the protagonist of the British period crime drama Peaky Blinders.

The character is introduced as a First World War veteran from a family with Romani ancestry, whose criminal enterprise is centred in Birmingham.

Cillian Murphy had expressed an interest in doing more television roles, "Those iconic American shows had been on and we watched them and everyone was kind of conscious of that.

[3] Although many characters in the series are based on real-life historical figures, most of the Peaky Blinders are entirely fictional and were created by Knight.

His experiences as a sergeant major during the First World War have resulted in him suffering from PTSD and it is implied he returned from it as a changed man.

In 1919, Tommy leads the Peaky Blinders into appropriating a consignment of guns from the Birmingham Small Arms factory.

Tommy obtains a betting licence for his business and hires Grace as his brother Arthur Shelby's (Paul Anderson) secretary at the Garrison, which the Peaky Blinders own.

Tommy meets with his aunt Polly Gray (Helen McCrory) and she informs him that Grace is the reason Inspector Campbell found the guns.

Tommy, Arthur and their brother John Shelby (Joe Cole) decide to get familiar with the London scene and start a fight at Darby Sabini's (Noah Taylor) club.

Tommy and John meet with Billy Kitchen (Paul Bullion), of the Black Country Boys, who fought with them in the war.

Tommy further complicates his love life, by escorting the returning Grace to a passionate date, though still stringing May along, who had earlier expressed her feelings for him.

Meanwhile, a refugee from Russia, named Anton Kaledin (Richard Brake), makes contact with the Peaky Blinders, offering the code "Constantine" as confirmation for the money-exchange meeting with Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna (Gaite Jansen).

Tommy travels to Wales with the sapphire necklace, where he confers with a Romani woman named Bethany Boswell, whom he asks whether it is cursed.

Tatiana sees Tommy to his car; he tells her that Father Hughes is betraying them to the Soviets and offers to kill him for free.

He demands the jewels as payment and for Tommy himself to blow up the train, which must kill six people, in exchange for the safe return of Charles.

As Arthur, John, Michael and Polly prepare to hang for their crimes, Tommy's reprieve comes just in time to save their lives.

When Tommy discovers and kills a mafia agent among his staff, he realises the assassination attempts are due to take place on Christmas Day and gets word to the rest of the family.

Meanwhile, Michael who runs the Shelby company in the United States, gets a message that the US stock market has crashed and leaves for Birmingham with his wife Gina Gray (Anya Taylor-Joy).

Later, the family have a meeting at the Garrison, where Tommy reveals that Aberama and Isaiah Jesus (Daryl McCormack) were sent to kill a pimp, who was blackmailing a senior member of House of Lords.

In 1933, Tommy, now sober, sets up a meeting with an estranged Michael, and business associates of Jack Nelson (James Frecheville), a south Boston gang leader and Gina's uncle on Miquelon Island.

As Ruby falls sick with consumption and treated with gold flakes, Tommy goes in search of the source of the curse that he believes has been laid upon his family, and eventually reunites with Esme.

Lizzie meets him at the entrance to tell him that the gold salts treatment didn't work, and that Ruby had died.

The meeting between Tommy, Mosley, Diana, Captain Swing and Nelson takes place: Nelson agrees to let Tommy trade opium in Boston as he gains information from Mosley about the political future of England, and agrees with Captain Swing that the Irish working class can be turned.

Tommy meets with Doctor Holford (Aneurin Barnard) and is told that due to coming into contact with Ruby while she was ill, he has developed inoperable tuberculoma and that he now only has between 12 and 18 months left to live.

Tommy deals with the Chinese business that got Arthur hooked on opium by walking into their shop, taking their remaining drugs and throwing them into the canal with a bomb.

He introduces his newly found son, Erasmus "Duke" Shelby (Conrad Khan), at a family meeting, to Lizzie's disliking.

His friend Johnny Dogs (Packy Lee) switches a car-bomb intended for Tommy, which after the meeting kills Michael's associates.

But after seeing a vision of Ruby, and Doctor Holford pictured with Mosley in a partially-burnt newspaper, Tommy realizes he had been given a false diagnosis of inoperable tuberculoma.

For his portrayal of Tommy Shelby, Murphy has received widespread critical acclaim and won the Irish Film & Television Academy for Best Actor in a Lead Role in Drama in 2017 and 2018.

"[13] Morgan Jeffery praises the 'movie-star charisma' of the character while Maureen Ryan says "Tommy Shelby may not be a good man, but he's a phenomenally watchable one.