Ireland’s own Cillian Murphy was a big figure at Thursday evening’s UK National Television Awards, securing the award for Best Drama Performance in the beloved drama series Peaky Blinders.

Murphy, who has played the starring role of Tommy Shelby since the show’s induction in 2013, beat out some tough competition thanks to the public vote. Other nominees spotlighted Jonathan Bailey of Bridgerton, Nicola Walker from The Split and Vicky McClure from Trigger Point.

Originally scheduled for September, the NTAs ceremony was postponed out of respect due to the Queen’s death. The Cork actor wasn’t at the ceremony, which was held last night at London’s OVO Wembley Arena, though his co-star delivered a sincere message on Murphy’s behalf.

Alongside fellow co-star Packy Lee and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Harry Kirton – who plays the role of Finn Shelby in the series – read Murphy’s message to the audience, sharing, “I'm sorry I can't be here tonight to pick up this award, but luckily I have someone younger, someone funnier, and, obviously, the creator to do it for me. Once again, I want to thank all the fans who voted for this award. I've been saying it for years: Peaky fans are the best in the world.

“Thank you to each and every one of you who voted for this award. Finally, I'd like to dedicate this award to every crew member, cast member and production member who worked on Peaky over the last 10 years, making this show the ultimate collaborative endeavour. We did it together. Lots of love, Cillian."

The sixth and final season of the BBC series received lots of love yesterday evening, as the show also was voted Best Returning Drama over Bridgerton, Call The Midwife and The Split.

As a major night in British and Irish TV, Irish actors enjoyed their share of the spotlight at last night’s NTAs. The final season of Derry Girls was nominated for Best Comedy alongside Not Going Out, Sex Education and After Life. Irish TV personality Graham Norton also served as tough competition against Ant and Dec over the award for Entertainment Presenter.

Cillian Murphy will star as ‘father of the atomic bomb’ in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, set for release next year.

Check out the first teaser trailer for Oppenheimer below, due in theatres July 21, 2023.