Ncuti Gatwa has some fond memories of his time playing Eric on Netflix’s Sex Education — but the experience wasn’t always smooth sailing.
“It was very hard. It was such a big show,” the actor, 30, who appeared on the show from 2019 to 2023, said in an interview with Rolling Stone UK, which was published on Monday, July 10. “When you’re telling stories that haven’t been seen before, there’s always a battle as to how to tell them.”
Gatwa pointed out that the show went through growing pains with its storytelling. As a result, he supports the decision to end Sex Education after four seasons because the cast has “outgrown” the experience.
“It wasn’t always joyous. I feel like we’ve outgrown it, and we’ve given everything we can to it,” he shared. “Being on it fast-tracked me into the downsides of this industry. I remember being told by an executive producer that white people wouldn’t understand my character, Eric, which incensed me. There’s an entire show there for white people to understand.”
Sex Education explores the stories of high school students Otis (Asa Butterfield), Maeve (Emma Mackey), Eric (Gatwa), Ola (Patricia Allison) and more as they deal with ups and downs in their daily lives — including topics such as sexual intimacy.
As season 4 wrapped up filming earlier this year, Gatwa shocked fans with the news of his exit. “Last day. Last time. Bye bubs, thank you for all the lessons and for all the strength✨,” Gatwa, who joined the cast of Doctor Who in 2022, captioned a February Instagram photo from set.
Gatwa’s update on his character’s conclusion came after Allison, 28, previously announced that she would not be reprising her role.
“I absolutely have loved being on Sex Education so, so much … but unfortunately, I won’t be joining the team for season 4,” the actress said during an episode of U.K. radio show “Breakfast With Yinka and Shayna Marie” in June 2022. “Some other opportunities have come up. I’ve been doing it for three years, and I’ve genuinely loved it.”
Allison admitted it wasn’t easy to part ways with the show. “Absolutely [it was difficult],” she continued. “I guess I have to say goodbye at some time, which is kind of sad, but other things are coming.”
Meanwhile, Mackey, 27, explained why she felt it was the perfect time to conclude Sex Education.
“It’s just always tricky, it’s different when you’re playing a character that is sort of stuck in time. You know, we’re playing 17-year-olds, and we’re all almost 30, it is a bit weird,” she told Total Film in February. “It’s something that has given us opportunities in different ways, but it’s something that I want to gracefully exit from and be happy that it exists and protect it and enjoy it in the time that it has existed in. But yeah, it needs to be left alone now I think.”
Mackey continued: “It’s just so contained and so condensed and intense when you’re shooting those kinds of things. We well up just thinking about how far we’ve come from when we were 21 and had our first auditions to where we are now.”
The fourth and final season of Sex Education will be released on Netflix September 21.
