Lark Rise to Candleford: Nan?

SPOILER ALERT for those who haven’t caught up to Season 3.

Molly left a comment on my Lark Rise post: did anyone know, she wondered, what happened to Alf’s girlfriend Nan?

I replied:

I was wondering that myself. She seems to have been written out between seasons two and three. Which is strange, considering how the season two finale devoted so much time to her—wasn’t that the episode that culminated in Emma’s speech about Nan not believing she deserved a good guy like Alf?

Didn’t that episode end with a kiss for Nan and Alf? It seemed like Emma’s words had made an impact. But in Season 3 (we’re up to episode 4, so far), it’s as if Nan never existed. There’s the hamlet giving Alf a housewarming, but no mention of any impending nuptials.

I can’t say I’m terribly disappointed she’s gone—she tended toward peevishness—but I do like my stories to explain themselves. This seems like an outside-the-story development. (Did audiences dislike her, so the writers have gone another direction? Or was the actress, Rebecca Night, perhaps unavailable? Wikipedia tells me she’s been busy making films.)

Anyway—now I’m seeing “what happened to Nan on Lark Rise” searches show up in my stats, so I thought I’d bring the question up top in case any of you have a more substantive answer than my speculations.

And now it seems we’re being prepped for an Alf-and-Minnie romance? They are (with Queenie) my two favorite characters by far, but as a couple? Seems contrived…