Peaky Blinders ‘accused of breaking coronavirus rules by letting positive-testing crew continue working’
PEAKY Blinders has been accused of putting its crew at risk after allowing a member of staff on set after testing positive for coronavirus.
reports the BBC's popular gangster show is being investigated by Union Bectu after the incident.
Filming for the sixth series of the BBC drama, based in Birmingham, was paused due to “a false positive test for a member of the crew.”
However, other crew members said that filming continued for a few hours after the positive result.
The crew member who tested positive then took an NHS Covid test, which came back negative and allowed shooting to resume.
The Guardian reports the delay in pausing filming has left some crew members angry.
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A spokesman for the show said: “Filming was stopped on Peaky Blinders because of a false positive test result for a member of the crew.
“In line with protocol, this person took an NHS test and anyone who came into contact with them self-isolated – the safety of our team on Peaky Blinders is of paramount importance. The NHS test came back negative and filming resumed on Thursday.”
The TV industry has had to adjust to ensure the safe return to film sets during the pandemic, with the help of the government-backed £500m film and TV production restart insurance scheme.
The show is co-produced by two companies; Caryn Mandabach Productions and Tiger Aspect and the investigation could have damage their insurance.
Any delay in filming costs money as BBC One filming costs range from £650,000 to £1m an hour.
Union Bectu's national secretary Spencer MacDonald said: “The safety protocols are in place to create a safe working environment for cast and crew.
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“Therefore the production should have informed everyone immediately and stopped filming.
“Otherwise a lapse like this could have contributed towards the spread of the virus.
The sixth and final series of the drama is hotly-anticipated. It was recently beset by tragedy when star Helen McCrory, who played Elizabeth 'Polly' Gray, died from cancer.
“We are currently waiting for the production to respond.”
Peaky Blinders is available to watch on Netflix and BBC Iplayer.