Sex Education season 4 is shaping up to look very different when it returns to Netflix after several cast members confirmed their exits. Among those not coming back are Olivia actor Simone Ashley, Orla star Patricia Allison, and Lily actor Tanya Reynolds. Now series regular Rakhee Thakrar, who plays English teacher Emily Sands, has confirmed she is also leaving.
In an interview with the Daily Star on Sunday, she gave a cryptic response about her exit. "I’m not part of the new series," Thakrar explained. "I can’t really talk about why. But I’m so proud of the show and grateful to have been part of something so important. There is nothing bad about Sex Education."
Currently, it is expected the other main cast will be back, including Ncuti Gatwa as Eric, Emma Mackey as Maeve, Asa Butterfield as Otis, and Gillian Anderson as Jean. However, given Mackey’s involvement in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film and Gatwa’s casting as the new Doctor Who, it’s unclear how much they’ll be involved.
Netflix hasn’t given a reason for the cast exits, but Lily actor Reynolds suggested they could be making way for some new characters to join the show. "It's just the natural progression of these shows," she told Radio Times in July 2022. "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."
