Bella Ramsey ‘can’t wait’ for The Last of Us season two lesbian romance

Time actor and BAFTA breakthrough star Bella Ramsey has spoken about the joy of, and anticipation for, the lesbian romance in the upcoming second season of The Last of Us.

Ramsey plays fiery and temperamental Ellie Williams, alongside Pedro Pascal, in the post-apocalyptic drama series. It swiftly became one of the most-watched and critically acclaimed TV shows of 2023, with Ramsey being tipped as an up-and-coming star to watch.

And today (29 November), they were named as one of the BAFTA breakthrough recipients for their work on the show.

While the first season featured stellar queer representation in the form of Bill and Frank’s heart-breaking love story in episode three, season two will see Ellie embark on a lesbian romance with newcomer Dina.

Speaking exclusively to PinkNews, Ramsey was eager to talk about the opportunity to bring the relationship to life.

“I’m really excited. Actually, the first time I’d ever heard of The Last of Us was a PinkNews article,” they admitted.

“This was before the show, before I even got the audition. [The article was] saying that it was the first lesbian kiss in a video game.

“I remember seeing that and being like: ‘That’s really cool’.”

The Last of Us video game remained burned into Ramsey’s memory, right up until the audition for the show came through.

“[I was] like The Last of Us… I recognise that, I can’t wait to do that, and to explore that story. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

Following the end of the Hollywood strikes, Ramsey is expected to begin filming season two early next year.

Although much was made of the sweet-yet-shattering relationship between Bill and Frank, Ramsey also had an opportunity to explore Ellie’s queerness in season one.

Episode seven was dedicated to a flashback Ellie has, in which she and military-school friend Riley (Euphoria’s Storm Reid) explored an abandoned shopping centre. Towards the end of the episode, they shared a kiss – before “an infected” attacked them.

“It was awesome. I remember when I was researching The Last of Us, I saw that this ‘Left Behind’ story from the game, so [I was like]: ‘I really hope that’s in the show’,” Ramsey said.

The relationship between Ellie and Riley is explored only in the downloadable expansion pack of the 2013 The Last of Us game, and doesn’t feature in the main game itself.

“When the script came through of Riley and Ellie’s story, I was very pleased. What was cool about it as well is that it was really relevant to the story – it wasn’t just saying: ‘We’re going to make a queer episode’.

“Same with the Bill and Frank story. It was relevant and really fed into Ellie’s story and how she is now. It helped to piece together people’s back story. It felt justified and very beautiful.”

Ramsey is one of 42 BAFTA breakthrough recipients. The 2023 accolade, supported by Netflix, has been given to “must-watch” creatives working in film, games and television, from across the UK, US and India.

Other recipients this year include Dreaming Whilst Black writer and star Adjani Salmon and Blue Jean actress Rosy McEwen and director Georgia Oakley.