Ted Lasso season 4 airs heartbreaking goodbye to long-running character - and actor speaks out

*Warning - contains spoilers for Ted Lasso season 4 episode 9.*

The ninth episode of Ted Lasso season 4 ended on a bittersweet note, with the team celebrating a big win, but Rebecca receiving some devastating news.

After Ted invited The Crown & Anchor pub owner and Richmond superfan Mae Green (Annette Badland) on the team bus to see the game, she went into the stands to watch it. At the end of the match, Rebecca received heartbreaking news about her, and while we didn't hear what it was, it was clear that she had passed away.

Mae has been a key character on the show since it's first season, being introduced in the second ever episode. Now, Badland has spoken with Deadline about her departure, and revealed she found out about her character's death surprisingly close to filming the episode.

When asked whether she knew about the storyline when she signed up to star in season 4, Badland said: "No, I didn’t know, and I didn’t know till about, I suppose, maybe November. We were only an episode away filming that.

"I was shocked, but I’m very proud being in the show, and I admire Jason [Sudeikis]. I think the series is so successful because people smell it’s very genuine. The audience know it’s not made cynically. It’s not a product. It’s something Jason wants to say about the world and how we are, so you have to trust that."

She continued: "I don’t know when I’ll die. You just don’t know. So, being told that it was going to happen quite close to it being filmed, you just have to go. 'Well, that’s [that]'."

Badland teased that we could see a funeral or party in memory of her character in episode 10, and revealed that Sudeikis changed some of the storyline in the finale after speaking with her.

"Jason did modify some of 410," she said. "We talked after he told me about her passing, and he did, because that’s how he is. He’s responsive and collaborative. So he did change some of the stuff in 10, or incorporated what we talked about. She doesn’t just [go away]. She has, not an appearance, but she is still within the context."

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Badland added of the character's death: "That’s what happens. You’re involved with folks, and they disappear. They go, and she loved her life. She made the very best of her life and really relished it. So she went, I suppose, for her, in the very best way."

The finale also has the matter of Tracey Ullman's Zelda to deal with, as it was revealed to the audience, but not the characters, that she is the one buying up Richmond shares, attempting to take the club from Rebecca.

Ted Lasso season 4 is available to watch on Apple TV, with new episodes releasing each Wednesday. You can sign up to Apple TV for a seven-day free trial.

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