Paul Anderson, star of the award-winning TV series "Peaky Blinders", was stopped in a London pub in the Hampstead district, in possession of crack cocaine. The owner of the place alerted the police due to the "crack fumes coming from the bathroom for disabled people after the actor had left. The officers allegedly found the actor drunk, near a boy and a 17-month-old child. Taken to the barracks, the substances were found: cocaine, amphetamines, diazepam and pregabalin (the latter two were prescribed).
The actor then appeared in court, where he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and amphetamine and paid a fine of £1,345.
But the most curious thing about the whole affair is the defense of his lawyer, Moira MacFarlane. The lawyer, despite Anderson's admission, denied that his client had smoked crack and justified the possession thus: «You will recognize the defendant from a very intense part he played in a recent television show. He is often recognized and does his best to please the fans of the series, often slipping into character." THE
That day Anderson “tried to play his part for some people. Because of his lifestyle, people often give him incentives, so he found himself in an unfortunate position, he should have had the strength to say no."
The “Peaky Blinders” series chronicles the rise and fall of the Shelby family, a gang of gangsters with hidden blades in their caps who operated in Birmingham after the First World War. Six highly successful seasons, with a highly anticipated spin-off planned at the cinema.
Arthur Shelby is the "hothead" of the family, right-hand man of his brother Thomas and deputy vice president of the Shelby Company Limited. In the series he is also the character with the most complicated relationship with drugs and alcohol, a real problem also for the family given that it limits their decision-making capacity and emotional stability.
(Unioneonline/L)