Sex Education cast: what are stars of hit Netflix show including Ncuti Gatwa and Emma Mackey doing next

After about half the Sex Education cast appeared in the Barbie movie, it’s clear that the show’s stars are moving on to bigger things following the arrival of the final season on Netflix last month.

Season four of Sex Education has been met by disappointment among some fans, but the show itself remains one of the most popular Netflix original series to date.

The series launched in 2019 with a cast of unknowns - only Asa Butterfield and Gillian Anderson were recognisable names - and the series has launched plenty of careers. 

Sex Education alums are fast becoming big Hollywood and stars with big roles in everything from Doctor Who to The Salt Path.  

Now that the story of Otis and Maeve has come to an end, this is what the cast of Sex Education are doing next:

Asa Butterfield

The star of Sex Education, Butterfield played Otis, the teenage sex therapist who fell in love with fellow student Maeve. He was one of the bigger names when the series began, having starred in films including The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Hugo, and Ender’s Game. 

Last year he starred in Amazon Prime festive romcom Your Christmas or Mine, and he’s set to be in the sequel. Butterfield will also star in upcoming comedy film College Republicans, and lend his voice to animated projects Stitch Head, and Watch the Skies.

Gillian Anderson

Gillian Anderson starred as Otis’s mother Jean, a professional sex therapist who caused her son no end of embarrassment. Known for her roles in The X Files and The Crown, she has plenty more in the works following Sex Education.

Anderson will play Emily Maitlis in Scoop, a biography about how the BBC landed the bombshell interview with Prince Andrew in 2019. Anderson will also star in western drama The Abandons and play Raynor Winn in biopic film The Salt Path.

Ncuti Gatwa

Ncuti Gatwa played Otis’s best friend Eric in Sex Education, and has since featured as one of the Kens in Barbie. He has landed a major new role and will play the 15th Doctor in sci-fi series Doctor Who, taking on the part in a special episode coming later this year. He is also due to star alongside Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan in Band of Brothers sequel series Masters of the Air, and had a role in an upcoming David Copperfield TV adaptation.

Emma Mackey

Emma Mackey starred as Maeve Wiley, Otis’s love interest throughout the series, and an outcast at the school who struggled with a difficult home life. Following roles in Death on the Nile, Emily, and Barbie, Mackey’s next film in Hot Milk, a drama film about a fractious mother daughter relationship.

Connor Swindells

Connor Swindells played Adam in the series - a bully in season one Adam underwent some serious development, becoming one of the show’s most loveable characters by the final season. Swindells played David Stirling in the first season of Second World War drama SAS: Rogue Heroes last year, and will reprise the role for the second season, due to air in 2024.

Alistair Petrie

Alistair Petrie starred as Adam’s hard and unemotional father, Michael. Like Adam, Michael also developed across the series, though it took much longer for him to become a sympathetic character. Petrie kicked off his post-Sex Education career with a part in short film Merman II, and is due to star alongside Stephen Fry in LGBT drama film Now & Then. 

Samantha Spiro

Samantha Spiro played Maureen, Adam’s mother and Michael’s long-suffering wife. Her first role since the show was in AppleTV comedy series Still Up. She will also star in the short film Something Else.

Aimee Lou Wood

Aimee Lou Wood featured as Maeve’s ditsy but kindhearted best friend, also called Aimee. She will star in drama series Toxic Town, about the toxic waste scandal in the East Midlands, and Seize Them!, a comedy series set in the dark ages and also starring Nick Frost, Jessica Hynes, and James Acaster.

Edward Bluemel

Edward Bluemel had a recurring role as Maeve’s unreliable drug addict brother in Sex Education. He recently starred in Netflix anime series Castlevania: Nocturne and will soon star in historical comedy series My Lady Jane, drama miniseries Washington Black, and Belgravia: The Next Chapter.