David Bowie sent Cillian Murphy a Peaky Blinders photo ahead of death

Actor Cillian Murphy received a rather special present from David Bowie before his death.

The music legend, who passed away at the beginning of the year, sent a photo to the actor to prove what a huge Peaky Blinders fan he was.

After the second season of the hit show aired last year, Bowie reportedly took a snap of himself wearing a flat cap with razors sewn into the lining in honour of Murphy’s character Thomas Shelby.

Show creator Steven Knight told The Radio Times: “We’ve had an amazing response from famous people for some reason.

“[David] sent a photo of himself with razor blades in his cap to Cillian about a year ago.”

He added: “I got in touch with his people who came back straight away and said he was a big, big fan.”

Bowie also made his last album Blackstar available for use on the show, with a Sony rep playing Knight tracks before its official release.

“It seems that his people were keen to establish that we could use it before he died,” said Knight.

The third season of Peaky Blinders will air on BBC Two on May 5.