S5 EP1: Bella Ramsey on being a child actor, dealing with critical fandoms and overcoming emetophobia

The Louis Theroux Podcast

Spotify Studios

Comedy, Society & Culture, Arts

4.3 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

To kick off the new series, Louis is joined in the studio by Bella Ramsey, rising star of ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘The Last of Us’. Bella delves into their experiences as a child actor, dealing with critical fandoms online, and their phobia of vomiting. Warnings: Some strong language and discussions of sensitive themes, including mental health issues and eating disorders. For further information and support, visit https://resources.byspotify.com/  Links/Attachments: BEAT – UK Eating Disorder Charity https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/get-help-for-myself/i-need-support-now/helplines/ TV Show: ‘Game of Thrones’ (2011-2019) - HBO https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones TV Show: ‘The Last of Us’ (2023 – Present) - HBO https://www.hbo.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GYyofRQHeuJ6fiQEAAAEy TV Show: ‘The Worst Witch’ (2017 - 2020) - CBBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b09m8lyz/the-worst-witch Video Game: ‘The Last of Us’ (2013) - Sony PlayStation https://www.playstation.com/en-us/the-last-of-us/ TV Show: ‘Time’ (2021-2023) - BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p09fs2qh/time?seriesId=p09fs2qh-structural-2-p0g5k19n TV Show: ‘Cracker’ (1993-1996) - ITV https://www.itv.com/watch/cracker/1a1918 TV Show: ‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’ (2024) - Investigation Discovery https://www.discoveryplus.com/gb/show/quiet-on-setthe-dark-side-of-kids-tv TV Show: ‘Chernobyl’ (2019) - HBO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8 EmetAction – UK Emetophobia Charity https://emetaction.org/ The Thrive Programme https://www.thriveprogramme.org/ Book: Emetophobia-Free, Rob Kelly (2014) https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=thrive+programme+emetophobia&crid=2Q58R6N2PS6MW&sprefix=thrive+programme+emetophobia%2Caps%2C114&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 Louis Theroux: Talking to Anorexia (2017) - BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09d5nk2/louis-theroux-talking-to-anorexia Book: The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien (1954) Credits: Producer: Millie Chu  Assistant Producer: Maisie Williams Production Manager: Francesca Bassett  Music: Miguel D’Oliveira  Audio Mixer: Tom Guest Video Mixer: Scott Edwards Shownotes compiled by Immie Webb Executive Producer: Arron Fellows     A Mindhouse Production for Spotify  www.mindhouse.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	One two, one two. Hello there. Are you there? Is this thing on? Can you hear me?
0:07.6	Hello, Louis Theroux here. And welcome back to my podcast, the Louis Thruh podcast. And for the first episode of the series, I'm delighted to be joined by none other than the star of Game of Thrones and The Last of Us, Bella Ramsey.
0:27.4	Bella's breakout role was at age 11 as Liana Mormon in the HBO fantasy phenomenon,
0:33.9	Game of Thrones, maybe you've heard of it. After a critically and culturally acclaimed run in
0:39.2	the show, Bella went on to feature in CBBC's adaptation of the worst witch, less culturally
0:46.6	acclaimed, but valid and important, but left at the end of the third series due to struggles
0:52.4	with mental health and an eating disorder.
0:55.2	In 2021, Bellow was cast as the lead role in HBO's post-apocalyptic drama series, The Last of Us.
1:01.1	It's on at the moment. On now? Is it on now? In the UK, HBO in America. Check your local listings.
1:07.7	But here's the point. It's an excellent series, and as I record this,
1:12.6	I'm two episodes in. At the time of the interview, I was one episode in, and I didn't know,
1:18.3	spoiler alert, that one of the main characters got killed. Should I go further? Yes, Pedro,
1:25.6	Pedro Pascal, is killed.
1:28.8	I've ruined it for you.
1:31.2	But there we are, which is exciting in a way because it means now Ellie is carrying the series
1:34.0	and who knows where it will go next.
1:37.6	Deal with it.
1:40.1	Warning, there is strong language in the episode
1:43.2	as well as discussions around mental health and eating disorders.
1:47.0	Oh, and if you're at all squeamish about vomit, there's a section later on in the conversation that you might want to brace yourself for.
1:54.4	A lot of chat about vom.
1:57.9	So here we go.
	...

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