Time viewers fiercely divided over BBC’s new drama starring Bella Ramsey as a heroin addict who gives birth in prison – with fans joking it’s ‘more traumatic than The Last of Us’

• Second season of BBC drama also stars Jodie Whittaker and Tamara Lawrance
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The BBC’s new drama Time left viewers divided last night – with some joking that the show was ‘more traumatic than The Last of Us’.

The three-part series stars Jodie Whittaker, 41, Tamara Lawrance, 29, and Bella Ramsey, 20, as three inmates who all arrive at a Liverpool prison on the same day.

Bella Ramsey – who shot to fame in Game of Thrones and also starred in HBO’s apocalypse thriller The Last of Us – plays Kelsey, a scam artist who is struggling with a drug addiction and is expecting a baby with her abusive boyfriend Adam. 

Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker plays struggling single mother Orla who is serving time for stealing electricity while Tamara’s character Abi is three years into a life sentence for murder.

The show, which is available to stream in its entirety on iPlayer, follows Kelsey’s pregnancy behind bars and shows her giving birth in the prison.

Pictured: Jodie Whittaker (right), Tamara Lawrance (left) and Bella Ramsey (centre) seen in the  BBC’s new drama Time

The final episode divided viewers – with some calling it ‘beyond grim’ while others called it ‘absolutely phenomenal’ 

In one heart wrenching scene, Kelsey’s partner Adam – played by Nicholas Nunn – tries to smuggle drugs into the prison during visiting hours.

After passing Kelsey a pill via a kiss, the new mother panics and hides the drug in her son’s babygro – prompting the security team to take him away indefinitely.

Begging the guard to believe her, Kelsey yells: ‘You like your job, don’t ya? TAKING BABIES OFF MOTHERS.’

The gut-wrenching scenes ends with Kelsey weeping in her cell while being comforted by Orla and Abi.

Bella’s performance struck a chord with viewers who have watched the whole series already – with some labelling the show ‘utterly superb’ on X, formerly known as Twitter.

One fan gushed: ‘For someone so young, Bella Ramsey is an extraordinary actress.’

Another added: ‘Best thing I’ve seen on telly in a long, long time. This is what we pay the license fee for.

‘The entire cast were utterly superb. Bella Ramsey is 20 years old. If they keep this up, they will have a Damebood before they are 40. Respect to everyone involved.’

Left: Kelsey (played by Bella Ramsey) kisses boyfriend Adam (played by Nicholas Nunn) during a prison visit, unaware that he is smuggling drugs into the prison

Kelsey breaks down in tears as she returns to her cell after being told that her son is being taken away from her indefinitely

Pictured: Kelsey cradles her baby son before he is taken away by security after his father tried to smuggle in drugs

Kelsey yells at the guard during the emotional scene: ‘You like your job, don’t ya? TAKING BABIES OFF MOTHERS’

A third said: ‘Just watched Time on BBC One. I don’t think I breathed once in the last hour. Unbelievable casting, acting and screenplay.’

However, others weren’t so gushing in their reviews – with a handful saying they found the show a ‘grim’ watch.

Elsewhere in the show, Abi admits to killing her baby son and attempting to kill herself while battling postpartum depression. 

During an emotional group therapy session, she said: ‘I held him under, I just wanted peace and quiet… for him and for me. No more suffering.’

After starting the show last night, one said: ‘I don’t think I can bear to see another episode. 

‘Maybe on iPlayer later but it’s beyond grim and I haven’t got the bandwidth at the moment. It’s powerful stuff.’

Meanwhile, another joked that they found The Last of Us – where Bella played an orphan trapped in a zombie apocalypse – easier to watch.

They wrote: ‘Bet [Bella] wishes [they were] back in The Last of Us. It was less traumatic, even with zombies.’

One impressed viewer praised the ‘unbelivable casing and screenplay’ – while others took issue with Orla’s storyline

The Nottingham-born actor starred in HBO’s The Last of Us, with Game of Thrones’ alum Pedro Pascal 

What’s more, others questioned whether Jodie’s character – who is a first-time offender – would be serving her time alongside a woman charged with murder.

One queried: ‘How would someone on remand for fiddling leccy and a murderer doing life be in the same hut?’

Another added: ‘All this for fiddling the leccy? Nah, something ain’t right.’

The critically-acclaimed series was created by BAFTA-winning writer Jimmy McGovern, who wrote the hugely successful dramas The Street, Hillsborough and Cracker.

READ MORE: From CBBC to LA! Bella Ramsey, 19, who shot to fame in The Worst Witch and Game of Thrones, is the latest British export to impress Hollywood 

 

Following the success of the first season, which starred Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, Helen Black – who worked on Death in Paradise and Grantchester – was brought in as a co-writer.

While the first season of the show was airing, unimpressed viewers balled it ‘absolutely brutal’ and ‘almost unwatchable’ due to the distressing scenes.

The show – which sees Line Of Duty ‘s Stephen Graham and Game Of Thrones’ Sean Bean play a prison officer and prisoner in the drama – wowed fans after episode one, which featured violence, suicide and the ‘grim’ reality of life in jail.

Bella Ramsey was just 14 when they first appeared in Game of Thrones’ sixth season as Lyanna Mormont, a no-nonsense teenager in charge of the House Mormont, who proves to be fearless warrior and a loyal ally of Jon Snow.

Viewers immediately fell in love with Bella in the role, and they became a fan favourite up until their character’s death in season eight. They currently have 4m followers on her Instagram account.

They won over new audiences in HBO’s new hit series The Last of Us, where they starred alongside Game of Thrones’ alum Pedro Pascal.

The Last Of Us was first released on the Playstation 3 in 2013, and took the gaming world by storm, selling 1.3 million units in its first week and over 17 million by 2018.

The game is set 20 years after a pandemic wiped out most of the world, centering on Ellie, who may be integral to curing the pandemic, and a smuggler named Joel.

Bella plays Ellie, a 14-year-old orphan, who struggles with learning she may have a big role to play in saving the world as she knows it. They starred alongside Pedro Pascal as unlikely father figure Joel.

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