Two fan favourites won’t be returning to Sex Education

Two fan favourite characters from a beloved Netflix hit have revealed they won’t be back for the next season.

Two fan favourites will not be returning to the next season of Sex Education. Picture: Netflix

Details about the next season of Netflix comedy Sex Education have started to trickle out, but it’s not good news.

Fan favourites Tanya Reynolds and Patricia Allison have both confirmed they won’t be returning for the next instalment.

Reynolds played the aliens-obsessed Lily while Allison portrayed Ola, Otis’ one-time girlfriend. The two characters became involved on Sex Education’s most recent seasons and ended their run happily coupled up.

Reynolds confirmed the news to Digital Spy. She said: “Lily is not coming back either. I think that for Lily, her storyline was just wrapped up quite nicely at the end of season three. So she’s got no loose ends to tie up, she had quite a happy ending.

“At the end of the last season, everyone kind of gets scattered, and I think that’s just a good opportunity to bring in some new characters.

Tanya Reynolds and Patricia Allison will not be returning for the fourth season. Picture: Netflix

“I absolutely will miss [her]. I love, love Lily with my whole entire being and I had the best time on those three seasons, and I will miss it for sure. I will miss Lily, and I will miss the gang. But it just kind of feels very right. It feels like time.”

Earlier in the week, Allison told UK radio station Capital Xtra: “I absolutely loved being on Sex Education so, so much and playing Ola. But unfortunately, I won’t be joining the team for season four.

“Some other opportunities have come up. I’ve been doing it for three years and I’ve genuinely loved it.”

Production for the fourth season is about to begin with a casting call going out for extras in the area. The series is filmed in Wales.

Sex Education is about to start production on its fourth season. Picture: Netflix

Created by Laurie Nunn, Sex Education’s first three seasons were set at the fictional Moordale High School, following the lives of its students, teachers and parents.

The series started with a focus on Otis (Asa Butterfield), a shy student who starts a sex clinic at school to answer the many questions of its confused students. Moordale was shuttered at the end of the third season, which gives the show an opportunity for a soft creative reset going into the new season.

Over its first three years, the series has been widely praised for its warm-hearted, progressive and irreverent treatment of teen and adult sexuality.

The ensemble cast also includes Ncuti Gatwa, Gillian Anderson, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Alistair Petrie and Aimee Lou Wood, although it hasn’t been confirmed who will be returning.

Breakout star Gatwa was in May named as the 14th Doctor in Doctor Who, becoming the first black actor to take on the lead role in the long-running and iconic series.