Sex Education star Tanya Reynolds has confirmed her exit ahead of season 4. The coming-of-age British comedy has been a huge critical and viewership success on Netflix across its three seasons. The show originally focused on the lives of the students, teachers, and parents at the Moordale Secondary School as they grappled with personal issues, often involving sexual dilemmas. The season 3 finale, however, saw Moordale shutting down, and Sex Education season 4, presumably the show's last, is expected to pick up from that cliffhanger ending.
Season 4 features some significant changes from the previous show, including the exits of some key cast members. As Reynolds revealed to Radio Times, she will not be returning to reprise her role as Lily Iglehart in season 4. As she explains, her character has been written off in a very logical way. In order to make room for new characters, the show naturally needs to let go of some older characters, especially if the ensemble is so huge. Reynolds understands the circumstances behind her exit, and she has no hard feelings against the show. One additional detail that has been confirmed for Sex Education season 4 is that it will see Moordale students relocating to a new school, where there will be a mix of both new and familiar characters. Read what Reynolds said below.
“I’m not [returning], actually, which is sad, very sad. 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.”
Reynolds's departure follows co-star Patricia Allison's exit from Sex Education, which was announced earlier this month. Although Reynolds' eccentric Lily will be dearly missed in the upcoming iteration, stretching her arc into season 4 may have caused redundancy, so it makes sense for Sex Education to have written the character off. Additionally, since the show will now take its core students to a new school, some other characters may be missing as well, possibly if they choose to go to different institutions. Fans should keep their eyes peeled for more casting updates before the full details will become clear when Sex Education unveils a trailer for season 4.
Source: Radio Times