Bella Ramsey and Jodie Whittaker to star in a new season of The Time’s prison drama

Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker and The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey will play inmates in the second series of the Bafta-winning prison drama Time.

Sean Bean and Stephen Graham starred in the first season of Jimmy McGovern’s gritty BBC series, which debuted in 2021.

For the sequel, the setting will be a women’s penitentiary.

Tamara Lawrance, known for her character in The Silent Twins, will join the cast, while Siobhan Finneran will reprise her role as Happy Valley’s prison chaplain.

On the same day, Jodie Whittaker, Lawrance and Ramsey will play condemned women.

“Time was an incredible, powerful show created by an extraordinary team, and to be a part of this project in its second iteration is a dream come true,” said Whittaker.

McGovern and Helen Black, whose BBC Three drama Life and Death in the Warehouse is nominated for a Bafta this year, will co-write the second series.

“It is very important to me to be a part of women-centered stories and productions, as well as projects that challenge prejudices,” Lawrance said.

“Time Series Two humanizes a sector of society that is too often and easily demonized by illuminating the complex reasons why people end up in the criminal (in)justice system.”

Ramsey stated that it was an honor to play Kelsey and that she was “really excited to experience the world for a few months through her eyes.”

Finneran stated that she was “delighted to be back for a second time” and felt “honored” to be asked back because “the scripts are once again heartbreakingly brilliant.”

McGovern, known for creating ITV drama Cracker, commented:

“This is the best cast I have ever seen assembled for one of my dramas.”

According to the BBC, the second season will soon be filmed in and around Liverpool.

Bean won the Bafta for best actor and best mini-series for the first series, which depicted life in a men’s penitentiary.