The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey to lead new series of BBC prison drama Time

By Alex Green, PA Acting Deputy Entertainment Editor

The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey is to star alongside Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker in a second series of hit BBC drama Time.

Jimmy McGovern’s show, which co-starred Stephen Graham and Sean Bean in its first series, will move to Carlingford women’s prison, with 19-year-old Ramsey portraying new arrival Kelsey.

Her casting comes after she shot to fame playing Ellie in HBO’s adaptation of the acclaimed video game The Last Of Us opposite Pedro Pascal, following a break-out role in Game Of Thrones.

Whittaker will star as Orla opposite Tamara Lawrance as Abi, who alongside Kelsey arrive at Carlingford on the same day and are “thrown together to face an unfamiliar world”.

Siobhan Finneran, whose credits include Happy Valley and Downton Abbey, will reprise her role from series one as Marie-Louise, a prison chaplain.

Ramsey said: “I’m very happy to be a part of this project, working with an incredible team and following on from a stellar first season.

“It’s such an honour to be Kelsey, I’m really excited to experience the world through her for a few months.”

Whittaker added: “Time was such an incredible and powerful show created by an extraordinary team, and being a part of this project in its second iteration is an absolute dream.”

The three-part series will air on BBC One and iPlayer and is written by McGovern and Helen Black, and directed by Andrea Harkin.

McGovern said: “This is the best cast I have ever seen assembled for any drama of mine. The best crew too. I am so, so looking forward to it.”

The first series of Time, which aired in summer 2021, was hailed by critics as “profoundly moving”.

Bean played newly imprisoned Mark Cobden while Graham appeared as Eric McNally, a principled prison officer drawn into underhand dealings.