The Eric Effiong actor had to fight to keep one scene in the edit.
Last Friday saw the long-awaited return of Sex Education to our screens after more than 18 months away, and many fans have already binged through all eight episodes over the weekend.
As usual, the new series includes many brilliant gags alongside its frank exploration of teenage sexuality, and star Ncuti Gatwa, who plays Eric Effiong, has revealed one scene that almost didn’t make it into the final edit.
During the series, Eric attends a Nigerian family wedding, which includes a funny scene in which his Aunty interrupts a conversation about an old flame of his mother with a lament that she wasn’t given enough stew. And Gatwa explained to Variety that he had to fight to stop this moment from being cut.
“Oh my God, can I tell you something? That scene almost got taken out of the edit,” he said.
“My director messaged me and she was like, ‘They’ve almost taken out the rice bit,’ and I texted her back and I was like, ‘Whatever you do, make sure that five seconds is in this show. It’s important! Every African person, no matter what country you’re from, will get that and you need to keep that in there!’”
The new series has been met with a positive reaction from both fans and critics since its return, with the series following Otis, Eric, Maeve, and the rest of the Sex Education cast as they adjust to the rather strict regime of Moordale’s new headteacher, Hope Haddon (Jemima Kirke).
Most of the familiar faces from seasons one and two have returned to face new relationship dilemmas, while they’ve also been joined in the cast by a couple of other new faces, including Dua Saleh as Cal, a non-binary student at Moordale.