Why did Tanya Reynolds leave Sex Education?

Sex Education - Credit: Sam Taylor
Sex Education - Credit: Sam Taylor

Tanya Reynolds is not in Sex Education Season 4, and she was certainly missed. Why did the actress leave the Netflix series?

Sex Education Season 4 is now available to stream on Netflix in full. One thing you may have noticed is that a couple of familiar faces weren’t there. One of them was the alien-loving Lily, played by Tanya Reynolds.

Of course, fans want to know why the character wasn’t there. She was one of the best when it came to figuring out and accepting the person that you are. Some things in life aren’t a choice, and Lily’s love of aliens and girls are among them.

Why Tanya Reynolds isn’t in Sex Education Season 4

After three seasons, Reynolds left the series. However, it wasn’t fully her choice.

At the end of the third season, Moordale Secondary closed its doors for good. That meant the students had to find a new school, and not all of them would end up going to the same school. It was a chance for a bit of a reset on some of the characters.

Reynolds explained to RadioTimes that her exit was just part of a natural progression in TV shows. Older characters need to leave to bring in new characters, especially for big ensemble casts. We just have to look at Grey’s Anatomy to see how bringing in new characters without getting rid of some of the old ones can lead to problems with all characters getting enough screen time and character development.

Lily wasn’t the only character missing. Her girlfriend Ola was also missing from the series. We knew about both exits ahead of the fourth season, and both actresses were positive about their time on the show and the reason their characters were written out.

Sex Education Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.