PEAKY Blinders’ Joe Cole reveals he “got out” of BBC drama at a “good time” after playing John Shelby for four season.
The hit series centres around Cillian Murphy’s character Tommy Shelby, and Joe played his younger brother John.
John was killed off in season four which Joe, 31, thought was a good thing.
“I actually think I got out at a good time because I think it gives a good opportunity for other actors to come in, and some of the younger guys to have more to do,” he told Digital Spy.
Joe said he had “the most amazing time” on Peaky Blinders and felt “nothing but positive feeling and gratitude for that show.”
The Gangs of London actor revealed it was also his choice to leave the popular drama.
Joe said: “I made the decision [to leave]. I’ve got a lot of love for those guys, and I think it’s an incredible show.
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“That’s what I want to be part of. I want to be part of an incredible show and great television. So you can’t complain about that, can you?”
His time on Peaky Blinders also made Joe popular amongst its fans and he gets a lot of love when he’s out and about.
He said: “The response I get on the street for that show is just unreal. I can’t tell you. It’s unreal. And the comment I get most of the time is: ‘I can’t believe you died. You shouldn’t have died. Why did you have to die? We loved your character’.”
It’s not the first time Joe has spoken out after recently saying he left Peaky Blinders because “it’s Cillian’s show” and he “never got out of the gates”.
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But Joe left the show in season four, and told Metro.co.uk: “With Peaky Blinders I never really got out of the gates in that role. It’s Cillian’s show really.
“I actually chose to leave Peaky Blinders because I wanted to explore new avenues, and new characters and new stories.”
Then he was sent the script for his latest Sky Atlantic series, Gangs of London and found it hard to turn down.
He said: “When I received this, literally I read the title and I thought ‘no’.
“[But] I read the first episode and the synopsis and I was like ‘This could be something special’.”
Joe plays the lead character Sean Wallace, a London mob boss who wants to avenge the death of his father.
He said: “This show is more ensemble, it follows characters on a deep level.”
Gangs of London follows the struggles between rival groups and other criminal organisations in the British capital.
All episodes of Gangs Of London are now on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
Joe Cole stars as a mafia don in the action-packed trailer for Gangs of London
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