iWorld
AVIA appoints Celeste Campbell-Pitt as a new chief policy officer
KOLKATA: The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has appointed a new chief policy officer to be based in its Singapore office, a first for the role. Celeste Campbell-Pitt will join AVIA on 3 May, and work with the current chief policy officer John Medeiros, who will retire after the transition period.
Medeiros, who is based in Hong Kong, and joined the Association then known as CASBAA, in 2005 as ice president of government relations and regulatory affairs, has been chief policy officer since 2013.
AVIA’s key focus has been to represent the combined positions of its members and engage in constructive dialogue with governments so they may better understand the curated video industry. The chief policy officer spearheads this goal, developing and executing policy initiatives relevant to the video industry, in consultation with and on behalf of AVIA member companies. According to AVIA, the role has evolved over the years and become a lot more critical as regulatory policies continue to develop alongside the sweeping changes the video industry has seen in recent years.
“This role is critical for AVIA and we have taken a long time to find the right person. While taking over from John who has made the role his own will be no easy task, I am delighted that we have found Celeste who has such a passion for the industry and a clear vision for how to build and develop the role,” AVIA CEO Louis Boswell said.
Campbell-Pitt comes with over twenty years of business and legal experience in the media and entertainment industry across both Europe and Asia. Before joining AVIA, she was consulting with various global media and technology companies as well as private equity firms that were looking to expand into the Asia Pacific region.
Campbell-Pitt was previously the vice president and head of Business Development and Advertising Sales at Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, after her stint at Endemol Shine Asia Group as the director and head of Commercial and Operations. She has also held senior legal counsel positions in international media companies including Star, Turner, and Channel Four in the UK.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
