Peaky Blinders fans may like the rough, tough Black Country 1920s gang wars of the hit BBC2 series.


But what about a similar kind of drama fronted by women instead of Tommy Shelby & co?

Writer Marnie Dickens, creator of the current hit BBC3 drama Thirteen, is hard at work on something that sounds rather familiar…

Her new series Forty Elephants is being developed by the BBC and is described as “a girl gang show set in the 1920s and centred on a crime family”.

“Forty Elephants is a modern and visceral period drama centred around the formidable leader of the infamous girl-gang and the ambitious young woman who sets out to undo her,” say Hammer and Mainstreet Pictures – the two production companies who are overseeing the venture.

A joint statement adds: “We are excited to be working with the talented Marnie Dickens on bringing the fascinating existence of these amazing women to the screen in this brilliant new perspective on the traditionally male-dominated crime thriller. London in the 1920s was a dangerous and glamorous place, and these women were ahead of their time in their ability to take control of their fate and make a place for themselves within such a patriarchal society.”

So, a female Peaky Blinders, then?

Not quite, says Dickens.


“Hopefully there will be a lot of clear water between the two shows” she tells RadioTimes.com with a chuckle.