Sex Education is going to look very different in season four.
The Netflix series is saying goodbye to yet another cast member ahead of the new season, with Rakhee Thakrar, who played teacher Emily Sands, announcing she's moving on from the show. "I'm not part of the new series," Rakhee told the Daily Star Sunday, adding, "I can't really talk about why."
She continued, "I'm so proud of the show and grateful to have been part of something so important. There is nothing bad about Sex Education."
Rakhee is the fourth star to announce their departure from the series in recent months. Tanya Reynolds and Patricia Allison, who played Lily and Ola, respectively, previously shared that they're leaving to make way for new characters. "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," Tanya told Radio Times, "which is absolutely the right thing, the way it should happen."
As for Patricia, she's just as heartbroken to be saying goodbye to the beloved show. "I absolutely have loved my time on Sex Education," she said in an interview on Capital Xtra Breakfast, "and I'm so sorry to have to break that to you guys."
Likewise, Simone Ashley has confirmed she won't appear in season four, but it seems this may be due to her role in another hit Netflix series, Bridgerton. As she told ITV's This Morning in April, "I'm a Bridgerton girl now."
So far, it seems series regulars Asa Butterfield (Otis), Gillian Anderson (Jean), Ncuti Gatwa (Eric), Emma Mackey (Maeve), Connor Swindells (Adam), Aimee Lou Wood (Aimee) are among those set to return. Their characters will likely be facing new challenges as they adjust to the closure of Moordale High, with The Hollywood Reporter writing that season four will take place at a new school and "will feature a mix of old and new faces."
The first three seasons of Sex Education are streaming now on Netflix.