Amidst a flurry of changes hitting Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education, another cast member has spoken out about whether they’ll be returning for season 4.
Ghosts star Jim Howick, who plays science teacher and school band conductor Colin Hendricks in Sex Education, has said that he expects to be back next time around despite the devastating closure of Moordale Secondary School.
Earlier this year, Howick’s frequent scene partner Rakhee Thakrar – who plays English teacher Emily Sands – confirmed she has parted ways with Sex Education, casting doubt on whether other Moordale faculty members would be seen again.
Howick himself admitted some uncertainty, telling RadioTimes.com: “It’s a long shoot. It’s not like a normal sitcom shoot. So, the truth is, I think I’m involved but I don’t know for sure. And it will definitely be in the second block, if I am.
“It’s too late for me now to be in the first block, I think. But yeah, I haven’t quit. I haven’t left. So if they’ll have me, I’ll come back.”
Howick continued that it’s not uncommon for Sex Education to confirm roles at the “last minute” and appeared confident that he would “probably” be back in some capacity.
“It’s often the way with Sex Education, they have to book massive stars to be in it,” he continued. “And so, it surprises a few people how last minute a lot of it all is… I think I’m probably going to come back, I think I would have heard if I’m being cut out.”
Fans will be curious to know what these latest developments will mean for Mr Hendricks and Miss Sands, whose romantic relationship had been an ongoing plot thread throughout the first three seasons.
Howick went on to comment on the cast shake-up that Sex Education has seen in recent months, which has seen Patricia Allison, Tanya Reynolds and Simone Ashley announce their departure, in addition to the aforementioned Thakrar.
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“I love working with Rakhee,” he began. “But the truth is that we’re not in it that much anyway. You know, we might make a big impact but compared to Asa [Butterfield] and Gillian [Anderson] and the other guys, we were sort of dipping in and out.”
Howick contimued: “And Rakhee’s getting extremely busy and that’s the same for Simone and for Tanya, and the sort of principal fringe characters in the show.
“It’s difficult to have all these characters in the show… it’s tricky. Of course, I love working with Rakhee but, you know, she’s rightfully doing other things.”
Most recently, Emma Mackey told RadioTimes.com that she will feature in Sex Education season 4 less consistently than in previous instalments, suggesting a recurring role as opposed to series regular.
Sex Education is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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