Not long after the announcement Patricia Allison would not return to Sex Education, Tanya Reynolds also dropped from the show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the decision was made months ago after a shift in the Netflix series with the closing of its main setting, Moordale High School, at the end of the third season. Now, season 4 will not have two fan-favorite stars.
Known for her character as Lily in Sex Education, Tanya Reynolds spoke to Radio Times about her departure. She cited it as a “natural progression” for old characters to make room for new faces.
“It’s just the natural progression of these shows — when you have such big ensemble casts and so many characters, I think you have to let a few older characters go to make way for newer ones, which is absolutely the right thing, the way it should happen,” she said.
Tanya Reynolds Leaves Sex Education Ahead of Season 4
Tanya Reynolds leaving Sex Education comes off the news of Patricia Allison not returning to reprise her role as Ola. Allison left the comedy-drama about an underground sex clinic in a high school to look for more work outside the series. She will star in the action flick Paradise and a comedy adventure series, Extraordinary. For Reynolds, she has the shorts Everybody Dies… Sometimes and X to X. She will star in the family-friendly fantasy movie Harold and the Purple Crayon with Zachary Levi (Shazam!).
In the same article from The Hollywood Reporter, season 4 will star both new and old characters as they go to a new school for fans to see. It is unknown who else will return or drop out from the series.
Although Tanya Reynolds departs Sex Education, most of the other main stars should return. It stars Asa Butterfield (Otis), Gillian Anderson (Jean), Ncuti Gatwa (Eric), Emma Mackey (Maeve), Connor Swindells (Adam), Kedar Williams-Stirling (Jackson), Alistair Petrie (Michael), Mimi Keene (Ruby), Aimee Lou Wood (Aimee), and Chaneil Kular (Anwar).
All three of the seasons are available to watch on Netflix. No date has been set for the next season.