Norwich-raised actor Sam Claflin has teased that his character in the new series of Peaky Blinders may be a match for protagonist Tommy Shelby.

Eastern Daily Press: Actor Sam Claflin who plays Oswald Mosley in season five of Peaky Blinders. Picture: PA Wire/PA ArchiveActor Sam Claflin who plays Oswald Mosley in season five of Peaky Blinders. Picture: PA Wire/PA Archive (Image: PA Wire/PA Archive)

Claflin, who went to Costessey High School and studied performing arts at Norwich City College, has appeared in films including Love Rosie, Me Before You and The Hunger Games.

Now he is due to make a splash on the small screen as the highly anticipated fifth series of Peaky Blinders, starring Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby, returns to the BBC.

Claflin will be playing fascist politician Oswald Mosley and is set to emerge as the antagonist of the latest instalment.

Speaking at the British Film Institute he said: "Tommy is out of his comfort zone - he's playing the big boy's game.

"He's playing chess if you will and Oswald Mosley grew up playing chess.

"It's the big fish in a small pond going into the ocean all of a sudden."

Claflin's isn't the only new face in the Peaky Blinders cast as former Hollyoaks actor Emmett J Scanlan and The Handmaid's Tale's Anya Taylor-Joy also join the ranks, though Murphy's Tommy Shelby is still the kingpin in the ensemble.

Speaking about the dynamic fans can expect from Shelby and Mosley, Claflin added: "The two of them enjoy the challenge of trying to outwit one another using each other to better themselves.

"Obviously when those two characters come together, it will hopefully excite people as much as it did me."

Peaky Blinders is set in Birmingham in the aftermath of the First World War.

Series five of the crime family saga will see the world thrown into turmoil by the financial crash of 1929.

This turbulent time sets the stage for Shelby to be approached by Mosley and Shelby realises that his response will affect not just his family's future but that of the entire nation.

The show, which has been running since 2013, will make its BBC One debut on August 25 at 9pm, with all previous series having been aired on BBC Two.

While it was thought that series five would mark the end of the long-running series, writer Steven Knight said there would be further series after the show won a BAFTA for Best Drama Series last year.