The hit weight loss competition show Biggest Loser will be back this fall, however it will be short one series staple.

According to the NBC network and Shine America, the production company behind the series, trainer Jillian Michaels will not be back for the upcoming season.

The statement confirming Michaels’s exit from the show was released on Wednesday. When questioned about the possibility of a comeback sometime in the future, a spokesman for Shine America said only that the company was focused on the latest season.

Though Biggest Loser will be without Michaels in its sixteenth season, the show has had to make due without the tough fitness coach in the past. This is the third time that Michaels has left the series.

The question now is whether or not someone will be taking her place when the show returns. Since there’s been no immediate announcement of a replacement trainer, fans of the show can only speculate about who could fill in for Michaels.

NBC: Jillian Michaels is leaving the 'Biggest Loser': http://t.co/qENuGgHL8M pic.twitter.com/v970cSWnde

— Philly.com Ent (@PhillydotcomENT) June 25, 2014

Michaels likely connected to the Biggest Loser series emotionally as a result of her own past struggles with weight. She had described herself as being very overweight at a point in her life.

Her current fitness is attributed to her study of martial arts. which eventually lead her to become a fitness trainer. Michaels now helps others work hard to overcome their weight problems and live healthier lifestyles.

Fans of the series remember Michaels’s shocked expression when in February Biggest Loser winner Rachel Frederickson won following her stunning (and highly controversial) 155 lb. weight loss.

Many critics of the series feel that the show promotes unhealthy weight loss habits. It’s also believed that the means of weight loss seen on the show are virtually impossible to maintain over a long period of time.

Love it or hate it, Biggest Loser is expected to return to NBC in September.

Image via Wikimedia Commons