Sex Education Is Losing A Pivotal Cast Member In Season 4

Netflix's "Sex Education" has developed a dedicated fanbased after three (soon to be four) seasons on the streamer. The series depicts life at the Moordale Secondary School in England. Moordale is filled with young students who have no idea what they're doing romantically, physically, and everything in between, but they still turn to classmates Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) for advice in the love department. Since Otis' mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson) is a sex therapist, his friends assume he knows more than the average person about romantic matters. But Otis is just as innocent as his fellow classmates (and, thanks to his mother's unstable romantic life, has mixed-up feelings about sex in general), so the advice he dishes out at a jury rigged sex clinic he runs with his friend Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) often lead to romantic misunderstandings among his peers. 

After three seasons, fans of the show definitely have their favorite characters and romances. Babies have been born, friends have come and gone, and young love has bloomed and died. But, ahead of the upcoming fourth season of "Sex Education," it looks like one of those beloved Moordale denizens is about to make an exit and leave a huge hole behind in the show's plot when they do.

During an interview conducted on "Breakfast With Yinka and Shayna Marie," a popular UK radio show, "Sex Education" actress Patricia Allison revealed she will not be returning for the fourth season of the Netflix series Fans can watch a clip of Allison confirming the news on Capital XTRA's official Twitter account. "I absolutely have loved being on 'Sex Education' so, so much ... but unfortunately, I won't be joining the team for Season 4. Some other opportunities have come up," Allison explained. She may be referring to some stage work, as she recently appeared in a West End production of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" (via Playbill). 

Allison portrays Ola Nyman on "Sex Education." Ola and Otis dated for a portion of the show's first and second season, but the romance was waylaid by the union of Jean and Ola's father, Jakob (Mikael Persbrandt), When Jakob and Jean announce that they're expecting a baby, Ola and Otis break up for good. This leads Ola into a relationship with Lily Iglehart (Tanya Reynolds), whose love of aliens provided a wedge for their connection. Fans nevertheless rallied around Ola and Lily, and the announcement that Allison is gone from the production must be devastating to them. The couple forged onward with their romance throughout Season 3, which ends with the birth of Ola and Otis' sister, Joy.

Per Collider, Allison won't be the only cast member skipping Season 4. Simone Ashley won't be appearing in the show's fourth season as she will be filming further episodes for Netflix's "Bridgerton." No further cast departures have been announced at press time, nor has there been an exit strategy put forth for Ola. According to TVLine, there is no scheduled start date for Season 4 of "Sex Education."