The fourth and final series of Sex Education was released to Netflix on Friday. As expected, the latest offering of the show was powerful, heartfelt and informative, giving a voice to individuals who don’t often see themselves reflected on screen. One emotional storyline that series four of Sex Education really dug into, was Cal’s (Dua Saleh) pictured above - who identifies as non-binary – transitioning process. As they struggle with their physical body not matching up with how they feel about themselves, viewers were privy to the emotional turmoil that they experienced, and it’s led many viewers to continue the discussion of non-binary identity offscreen. And none of that would be possible without the work of Shay Patten Walker.
Who is Shay Patten Walker?
Shay Patten Walker was a trans activist who worked as Sex Education’s gender story consultant on series four, who sadly died by suicide at the age of 24 last year. Viewers of Sex Education may have noticed that episode five of series four paid tribute to Shay.
In turns out, that without them, the transgender characters of Cal, Abbi (Anthony Lexa) and Roman (Felix Mufti) wouldn’t have been nearly so well developed, nor so authentic.
And Shay – who studied at the Univeristy of Greenwich - didn’t just work their magic on Sex Education, they were also a major voice for trans rights and worked with TransActual – a charity that aims to reduce the spread of misinformation about the trans community in order to educate and eradicate transphobia.
Below is one of the tributes friends and colleagues paid to Shay following their death in February 2022.
Shay was clearly a force for good in the world, with many accolades to their name including speaking at the 2021 Generation Equality Forum - a global gathering for gender equality, working with organisations like Gendered Intelligence - a charity that works to increase understandings of gender diversity and improve the lives of trans people - and UK Black Pride as well as serving as a voice actor for a black non-binary video game character.