Simone Ashley says she will not return to Sex Education Season 4: 'I'm a Bridgerton girl now'

Simone Ashley, who plays Kate Sharma in Bridgerton Season 2 but has also been a part of Sex Education as Olivia Hanan, will not return to the new season of the Netflix teen dramedy series.

In an April 12 appearance on UK channel ITV's show The Morning, Ashley was asked about the fate of her character Olivia, who is part of a popular clique called The Untouchables. According to The Independent, Ashley said, "I get asked that all the time," before adding, "No, I'm a Bridgerton girl now."

Ashley and Charithra Chandran's (seen as Kate's sister Edwina) inclusion in the series has mostly been appreciated. However, the show's attempts at including the Indian element in the story was subject to criticism.

Sex Education's makers have not yet revealed how they intend to make up for Olivia's absence in the story. 

Meanwhile, Ashley had told Teen Vogue that Bridgerton fans can expect Season 3 to pick up on Viscount (Jonathan Bailey) and the Viscountess Bridgerton's love story. Jess Brownell would take over as showrunner for the third and fourth seasons.

While Season 2 was based on Julia Quinn's book The Viscount Who Loved Me, the third instalment will likely be an adaptation of the fourth Bridgerton book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, which centres around Colin's (Luke Newton) journey to love.

Besides the Netflix show, Ashley is also reportedly a part of Disney's live-action Little Mermaid adaptation in an undisclosed role.

All seasons of Sex Education and Bridgerton are available on Netflix.