Willie Garson’s death will not be written into the reboot of Sex And The City, And Just Like That, showrunner Michael Patrick King has confirmed.

Garson, who played Stanford in the original series, died in September this year at the age of 57 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The new series is set to premiere on 9 December, with a trailer released earlier this week showing Garson in the role of Stanford once again. The late actor had already filmed scenes for the reboot before his death.

Fans speculated whether his death would be featured in the show’s script, but King told The New York Times in a new interview that they decided against doing so.

King, who was an executive producer on Sex And The City, said: “Because it wasn’t charming. And I knew that the audience would know.”

He clarified that “nobody’s dead” over theories that the show would kill off a main character in the very first episode, with fans speculating it could be Chris Noth’s Mr Big or Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones.

Following news of Garson’s death, Sarah Jessica Parker, who was close friends with him after the series ended in 2004, described the loss as “unbearable” in an Instagram post.

Parker, who plays Carrie Bradshaw, wrote: “A real friendship that allowed for secrets, adventure, a shared professional family, truth, concerts, road trips, meals, late night phone calls, a mutual devotion to parenthood and all the heartaches and joy that accompany, triumphs, disappointment, fear, rage and years spent on sets (most especially Carrie’s apartment) and laughing late into the night as both Stanford and Carrie and Willie and SJ.”

Tributes to Garson poured in from other SATC cast members, including Noth, Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, and Mario Cantone.

And Just Like That sees Parker returning as Bradshaw, as well as Nixon as Miranda and Davis as Charlotte, as they “navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s”.

The series will be available to watch on Sky Comedy and NOW TV on 9 December.

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