Channel 4 spokesperson:
"A mutual decision was reached between [production company] Clerkenwell and Lauren earlier this year that she would not be returning for the fourth series. Misfits has been in production for a number of weeks now and Lauren is not part of the lineup."It's no surprise this news has set tongues wagging, given how Socha was recently convicted of racially aggravated assault on Sakander Iqbal, a taxi driver whose cab she got into while on a night out in Derby last October.
Channel 4 are keen to stress Socha's exit has nothing to do with the twelve-month suspended sentence she received this week, but it does feel suspicious. Above all, it's hard to see why Socha would choose to leave Misfits. She's always been the most vocally-supportive of the show in interviews, and I'm sure she knows her acting range won't have her stepping into a BBC1 period drama anytime soon. Then again, maybe her surprising BAFTA win in 2011 has opened some doors she's keen to step through.
Anyway, this is all conjecture. The official line is that Socha parted ways with the show many months ago, amicably, so we'll just have to accept that. To be fair, it was announced in March that three new characters would be joining the show (Jess, Finn and Alex), so that extra newcomer now makes sense with the loss of Kelly. I wonder if Socha will film a "webisode" to explain her character's absence, as Robert Sheehan did?
What do you make of this surprising news? Will Misfit be able to cope without belligerent Kelly around? I think it will, although I know some people think Kelly was the heart of the show in many ways. Socha's loss leaves Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as the only original cast member left, so who thinks he'll be leaving after series 4? And given the show's premise of young offenders on community service, perhaps it's beneficial and lends plausibility if the cast keep refreshing itself.
