Sex Education costume designer: 'Ncuti Gatwa's the best person to dress'
Eric will be sporting some bold new looks in season 4.
The costume designer behind Sex Education season 4 has declared Ncuti Gatwa the "best person to dress" on the smash-hit coming-of-age series.
The incoming Doctor Who star plays Eric Effiong on the show, a proudly gay student of Moordale Secondary, who finds a new friendship group of kindred spirits upon arrival at Cavendish Sixth Form.
Daniella Pearman joined the show for its final outing, taking the reins from original costume designer Rosa Dias, and told RadioTimes.com she worked closely with Gatwa to craft the look of this bold next chapter in Eric's life.
"Ncuti is the best person to dress," she began. "I mean, he looks incredible in anything and everything. They're all so amazing at understanding their characters and their story.
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"So when we were in the costume fitting, we had all his old costumes there and we went through what we wanted to keep and what we wanted to not keep," continued Pearman. "We then together went, ‘Well, where's he going? What are his influences? These new friends?’"
Eric's new clique, nicknamed 'The Coven', is formed of fellow LGBTQ+ students (played by Sex Education newcomers Felix Mufti, Anthony Lexa and Alexandra James), which encourages him to delve deeper into his community than ever before.
"The pivotal part is when he goes to a queer party," teases Pearman. "He's just like, ‘Wow, this is my world’. From that point, we then see him take influence from the coven, and be a bit more experimental with what he wears.
"But obviously, he's still got that more conservative look at church, so me and Ncuti kind of went, ‘What would he wear for church? And then what would he wear when he's out with the coven? Or at college?’ It was a very collaborative process."
Sex Education is ending with its fourth season on Netflix, with Gatwa making clear that he has no plans to return to the role of Eric in the future, telling press that the cast had "outgrown" the series.
We'll be seeing plenty more from the rapidly rising star, however, as he is to become the new face of BBC One's long-running sci-fi drama Doctor Who, taking over from David Tennant after this November's 60th anniversary specials.
Sex Education season 4 is coming to Netflix on Thursday 21st September 2023. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
