Fans of the BBC’s Peaky Blinders may be interested to hear that a new character is “very excited to come and play” in the upcoming fourth series of the show.

Adrien Brody – who won a Best Actor Oscar in 2002 for his role in Holocaust movie The Pianist – has joined the cast of the drama, which tells the story of a fictional gang – the Peaky Blinders - operating in post-First World War Birmingham.

He tweeted a photo of himself on set in Liverpool last Thursday along with the caption: “Uh oh, here's a sneaky peaky of me being cheeky... very excited to come and play with the immensely talented gang”.

Steven Knight, creator and writer of the series, said it was “fantastic” to have the Hollywood star join the cast.

“He genuinely was the actor in my head when I wrote the part,” Mr Knight added. “I'm sure he will be a formidable presence in the world of the Peaky Blinders.”

Mr Brody, whose father Elliot is of Jewish descent and whose mother, Sylvia Plachy, was raised Catholic, but had a Jewish mother, has said that he was brought up "without a strong connection" to either Judaism or Catholicism.

The exact details of Mr Brody’s role in Peaky Blinders have not yet been revealed; the fourth series of the show is due to be broadcast in late 2017.