‘Bella Ramsey Replaced’ Trend Explained: Why Were They Recast?

Despite their exceptional portrayal of Ellie in The Last of Us, fans have been searching for why Bella Ramsey was replaced online. Despite the trending posts, which speculate that Ramsey will quit the HBO videogame adaptation, there is no truth to it. Instead, the trend has to do with the actor being recast in The Worst Witch, and they have now come out to address the same.

So, what is the meaning of the “Bella Ramsey replaced” trend, and what did they say about it? Here’s what we’ve gathered.

Bella Ramsey on why they were replaced in The Worst Witch

Fans widely discussed and analyzed the Game of Thrones star’s replacement in The Worst Witch. They played the role of Mildred Hubble for three seasons of the 2017 show. Meanwhile, Lydia Page stepped into the role in the show’s fourth season.

In a 2023 interview with Elle, Bella Ramsey opened up about why they left The Worst Witch. They stated that they had developed an eating disorder during the show’s debut season but realized it later.

“I know it’s sort of been publicized a lot that I left for mental health reasons…I would say the more accurate description is that I had resolved a lot of my mental health problems by that point,” the 21-year-old actor said. They further revealed that by the time they did the third season, they had almost recovered from anorexia nervosa.

Ramsey shared that though they wanted to quit much sooner, they ultimately exited the show in the fourth season. “And then the idea was that, ‘I’m not going to do this fourth season because it’s not worth it, because I’m in a better place now. This is not something that I want to continue to string out and have the recurring issues that stem from that first season. I don’t need or want to do this anymore,” they said.

Since then, Bella Ramsey has gone on to achieve great acclaim and fame. Yet, they have also often been a target of harsh criticism online. The most recent instance was during the second season of The Last of Us. A certain section of the viewers began commenting on social media platforms to get a new actor to play Ellie.

This has led to the search term “Bella Ramsey replaced” trending online. However, it is also likely due to them being recast in The Worst Witch previously. Nevertheless, fans of the actor need not worry as Ramsey is still very much a part of the HBO series.