Time viewers call the BBC prison drama ‘one of the hardest watches in recent times’ as fans break down in tears at the ending after binge watching the second series on iPlayer

Viewers of BBC’s gritty prison drama Time are excited for the second series after its release this week.

The first episode of the drama’s second series aired on BBC One on Sunday evening, while all three episodes are available to stream on iPlayer.

Fans couldn’t resist watching the entire series and have taken to social media to praise the ‘heartbreaking’ ending.

The three-part series stars Jodie Whittaker, 41, Tamara Lawrance, 29, and Bella Ramsey, 20, as three inmates who all arrive at a Liverpool prison on the same day.

Bella Ramsey – who rose to fame on Game of Thrones and also starred in HBO’s apocalypse thriller The Last of Us – plays Kelsey, a con artist struggling with drug addiction and expecting a baby with her abusive boyfriend Adam.

Praise: Viewers of BBC’s gritty prison drama Time are raving about the second series after its release this week. The three-part series stars Tamara Lawrance, Bella Ramsey and Jodie Whittaker

Tears: Fans couldn’t resist watching the entire series and have taken to social media to praise the ‘heartbreaking’ ending

Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker plays struggling single mother Orla who is serving a prison sentence for stealing electricity, while Tamara’s character Abi is serving three years to a life sentence for murder.

The show follows Kelsey’s pregnancy behind bars and shows her giving birth in prison.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan wrote: ‘Just finished Time on BBC iPlayer, great 3 episodes. The last episode got me.”

“Well, time finally got me,” agreed another. “Time is probably one of the most difficult and raw TV shows I’ve ever seen in recent memory… fantastic viewing.”

‘It will be said a lot, and rightly so, but Time really is the BBC at its best. What a powerful piece of drama and what a cast. Phew,” one fan wrote.

Others praised the performances, with one viewer posting: ‘ALL awards to Bella Ramsey. Absolutely unbelievable,” one person declared.

‘How good is season 2 of Time on the BBC? Flippin’ eck, literally every performance from leads to supporting cast is just fantastic. Beautiful writing by Jimmy McGovern and Helen Black.’

The critically acclaimed series was created by BAFTA-winning writer Jimmy McGovern, who wrote the hugely successful dramas The Street, Hillsborough and Cracker.

Masterpiece: On the Way to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan wrote: ‘Just finished Time on BBC iPlayer, great 3 episodes. The last episode has me’

Awards: Others praised the performances, with one viewer posting: ‘ALL awards to Bella Ramsey. Absolutely unbelievable,” one person declared

Following the success of the first season, which starred Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, Helen Black – who worked on Death in Paradise and Grantchester – was brought in as co-writer.

While the show’s first season aired, unimpressed viewers called it “absolutely brutal” and “almost unwatchable” due to its disturbing scenes.

The show – which sees Line Of Duty’s Stephen Graham and Game Of Thrones’ Sean Bean play a prison officer and inmate in the drama – stunned fans after episode one, which tackled violence, suicide and the ‘grim’ reality of prison life came.