Bella Ramsey To Play Wife Of 7/7 Terrorist In 'Girl Next Door'

The Last Of Us and Game Of Thrones star Bella Ramsey is taking on a challenging and provocative role as they have been set to play the British terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite, aka the White Widow.

Celsius Entertainment has acquired world sales rights to movie Girl Next Door and is launching ahead of the Cannes market. The project is written and directed by Bruce Goodison with filming being lined up for October 2024.

The film is inspired by the true story of a 21 year old suburban mother of two who became radicalised. Lewthwaite (who took the first name Sherafiyah), the widow of a 7/7 London terrorist bomber, is accused of causing the deaths of more than 400 people. She is a fugitive from justice in Kenya, where she is wanted on charges of possession of explosives.

The film was BFI-backed for development. Kate Cook and Julia Berg produce for Indefinite Films, Andee Ryder and Sofia Ismail Martin produce for Misfits Entertainment, supported by executive producer, Nicola Pearcey of Picnik Entertainment. Thierry Wase-Bailey and Henriette Wollmann exec-produce for Celsius Entertainment. Casting is by Sam Stevenson.

Bruce Goodison’s latest feature film is Black Cab for Sony Pictures Television and Shudder, starring Nick Frost. His first feature film was Leave To Remain with Toby Jones and a cast of young refugees.

The writer-director said: “This film is about a young life-affirming idealist with a broken heart. Sam turns her grief into a strength that was then exploited by men for purposes of global terror. I just didn’t believe the hype – was Sam really the terrorist mastermind the press and anti-terror police would have us believe, or was there another truth? Her truth.

“I’ve written an unsettling mystery that asks how it might feel if the person you love and expect to share a life with goes out one day and commits an act of terror that challenges everything you hold dear. Sam goes on an odyssey that both consumes her and alters her. Little by little she is isolated and radicalised andit could be argued this was as a result of being rejected by us.

“A lot of my work is research based and in preparation for this film I have had access to Sam’s personal diary that she started to write after the bombing, I spoke to family members and the ‘adopted’ family that inspired her Muslim conversion, Nikki, the other woman, ‘Sheikh’ Faisal, the security services, plus the Sun journalist who she denounced Germaine’s actions to.

“The film is unapologetically from Sam’s perspective – anyone playing Sam needs to be fearless. Bella Ramsey is the perfect fit. Bellawill bring heart, life and complexity to this role.”