Bella Ramsey opens up about reason she left The Worst Witch

Actor appeared in CBBC series when she was 14, but left after four series

The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey has spoken about leaving children’s TV series The Worst Witch as a teenager to aid her recovery from an eating disorder.

The young actor rose to fame in 2016 when she was just 13 years old, as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones.

A year later, she would be cast in the lead role of Mildred Hubble in CBBC’s adaptation of The Worst Witch. Ramsey appeared on the show for three series, but left before series four, when she was replaced by Lydia Page.

In a new interview with Elle, Ramsey said that, while filming the first series of the kids’ show, she developed what she’d later understand to be the eating disorder anorexia nervosa.

She initially hadn’t wanted to return for series two or three, but convinced herself to stay. By the time series three was filming, she had predominantly recovered and was finally ready to move on.

“I know it’s sort of been publicised a lot that I left for mental health reasons,” Ramsey, now 19, said. “I would say the more accurate description is that I had resolved a lot of my mental health problems by that point.

“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.’”

In 2018, Ramsey shared a series of tweets for World Mental Health Day about her experience with the eating disorder, in which she said that her Christianity had helped her recover from the illness.

Ramsey, pictured in November, opened up about her past mental health issues (Getty Images for Sony Pictures E)

“There isn’t always an answer but let me tell you this - there’s always a way out,” she wrote. “There’s always light at the end of the tunnel no matter how dim it might seem. I am fortunate to have reached that light, at moments it felt non-existent. But it was always there.”

Ramsey is currently appearing in HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us opposite Pedro Pascal.

Last week, the actor opened up about her gender identity in a new interview, saying that she identified as gender-fluid.

Explaining that she would tick the box for “non-binary” when asked to name her gender on documents, Ramsey said: “Being gendered isn’t something that I particularly like. But in terms of pronouns, I really couldn’t care less.”

For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this piece, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677. You can visit their website here.

NCFED offers information, resources and counselling for those suffering from eating disorders, as well as their support networks. They can be reached by phone on 845 838 2040 or their website here.