'Peaky Blinders stars asked me for accent advice'

An actor who stars in the new Peaky Blinders film has said he often helped others on set to crack the infamous Black Country accent.

Spencer Elcock, who was born and raised in Sedgley, but now lives in Seisdon - just outside of Wolverhampton- described revisiting his old haunts for the silver screen as "absolutely amazing".

For his first credited role, he plays a member of the core peaky gang in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, and got the chance to star alongside household names such as Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan.

"If you want a proper Black Country accent you get the right people in and they have done that," the 23-year-old told BBC Radio WM.

He added: "Cillian's accent is one of the best ones there, he's really got it nailed. But the rest of them had to keep asking for advice from me on set.

"I just helped them out with their lines, if they came to me and said 'look Spencer I don't really know how to say this specific one' I'd be like, don't worry guys I'm a pro I've got this."

The Immortal Man comes four years after the sixth and final series of the TV show. It picks up in 1940 during World War Two, with Tommy Shelby being forced to revisit his past.

The film features a range of iconic locations across the West Midlands, including the Black Country Living Museum, Bumble Hole local nature reserve and Digbeth Loc. Studios.

Elcock told listeners: "It was absolutely amazing, from growing up in the Black Country and seeing all the different locations as a normal civilian, to then becoming a Peaky Blinder and being able to play the character in those locations was absolutely incredible."

The new movie was released in cinemas across the UK on Friday and will be on the big screen for two weeks before it's released on Netflix on 20 March.

After attending the premiere, Elcock described it as having, "all the Peaky drama" and "everything that everyone loves from the series and more, on a wider scale".

He added: "The story is brilliant, Steven Knight's really pulled it together, I'm just really really excited for everyone to see it."

This weekend, he plans to take his family to see the fruits of his labour and watch the film on the big screen.

"It's more of a celebration of not just my hard work but everyone else's as well. It's not an easy industry to be in, and my mom, dad, partner and everyone around me has pushed me to get to this level.

"It's just the start but it's a celebration of them."

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