Sources close to "Saturday Night Live" have have confirmed to The Huffington Post that Paul Brittain, best known for his characters Lord Wyndemere and "Sex" Ed Vincent, has left "Saturday Night Live."

Brittain made his first "SNL" appearance on September 25, 2010, on a show hosted by Amy Poehler. Brittain made his mark as a lead performer on October 23 when he introduced the character of "Sex" Ed Vincent -- a "sex education educator" who put on awkwardly dry, yet somewhat graphic sex seminars.

His other popular recurring role was as Lord Wyndemere, a fanciful 18th century-type scamp who lives in the present.

From an audience perspective, Brittain's role as a featured player on the show was sporadic. Brittain would sometimes go whole episodes without an appearance, although that isn't entirely uncommon for a second-year featured player.

What is rare is that Brittain would leave the show mid-season. In 1995, Janeane Garafalo left the show mid-season after a rather tumultuous six months. In February of 1981, Charles Rocket uttered an expletive during the show's "good nights." After one more episode, Rocket, Gilbert Gottfried, Ann Risley, along with producer Jean Doumanian, were fired.

Entertainment Weekly first broke the story, citing someone close to Brittain, stating that he, "had the opportunity to pursue other projects and he and the show parted ways amicably."

"Saturday Night Live" returns from a two-week hiatus this weekend with host Channing Tatum.

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