In news that could make you reach for the Touche Éclat and a heavy Instagram filter, Skins turns 10 years old this Wednesday. To mark the occasion, all 61 episodes of the era-defining teen drama are now available to watch on All 4. If you can't hear Beth Ditto hollering "STANDING IN THE WAY OF CONTROOOOOL" right this minute, hang your head in shame and whack it on YouTube now to make amends.
But seriously, let's take a moment to appreciate Skins. It arrived in January 2007 on a tidal wave of hype promising sex, drugs and general edginess, but actually gave us so much more. Over seven series, the writers tackled issues like mental illness, gender, sexuality, social anxiety, bullying and death with depth and sensitivity. Most of the time, the show was lots of fun, too. And it had teenage characters who were so much more genuine and relatable than we were used to seeing on TV. It's no coincidence that the Skins gang have done so well for themselves: they were smartly cast and given challenging and constantly evolving roles to sink their teeth into. Here's an update on what 10 of your faves from the show are up to now.
Nicholas Hoult
Hoult's Tony Stonem was initially an attractive but arrogant antihero: even girlfriend Michelle described him as "like ice – cold and transparent". But after suffering a subdural haematoma, series two showed a more vulnerable side to this OG fuckboy as he battled impotence, speech problems and a crash in confidence.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
Hoult's career has obviously flourished since he left Skins with high-profile roles in Mad Max: Fury Road and the X-Men movies, where he met former girlfriend Jennifer Lawrence. He also impressed as Colin Firth's innocent sort-of-love interest in Tom Ford's brilliant 2009 film A Single Man.
Photo: Roadshow Films/REX/Shutterstock
April Pearson
Pearson played Roundview College's original queen bee, Michelle Richardson, in Skins ' first two series. Though on the surface Michelle seemed cool and aloof, she also showed admirable qualities like loyalty and maturity: somehow she always forgave on-off boyfriend Tony, and she supported best friend Jal when she had an abortion.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
After leaving the show in 2007, Pearson appeared in the comedy horror flick Tormented and British action film Age of Kill. From March, she'll be treading the boards at London's Union Theatre in a risqué-sounding play called Threesome. You can also find her tweeting at @_AprilPearson.
Photo: Via @apriljpearson/@nathalie_grace_miles
Dev Patel
Patel had no prior acting experience when he auditioned for Skins, but he excelled as fun-loving Anwar Kharral, a character who was written specifically for him. Though religion never stopped Anwar from drinking or popping a pill, he found it less easy to reconcile his Islamic background with best friend Maxxie’s emerging queerness.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
Within a year of leaving Skins, Patel had landed the lead role in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, and he's never looked back. In fact, he's just picked up a BAFTA nomination for his role in the biographical film Lion.
Photo: See-Saw Films/REX/Shutterstock
Hannah Murray
Murray's Cassie Ainsworth could be Skins ' most complicated and intriguing character. Although she seemed like a fey and slightly aimless daydreamer, Cassie was actually a smart, intuitive young woman who suffered from anorexia and pronounced mental health issues.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
Five years after leaving Skins, Murray returned for a special feature-length episode in which we saw Cassie battling exhaustion and social isolation while working as a waitress in London. Murray has played Gilly in Game of Thrones since 2012 and she also starred in Polly Stenham's super-cool stage play That Face.
Photo: HBO/REX/Shutterstock
Joe Dempsie
He may have partied like a young Kate Moss and had a fling with one of his teachers, but Dempsie's Chris Miles was no basic bro. Plucky and charismatic, he even managed to bounce back after his mum ran away, leaving him just £1,000 to live off. In fact, Chris was so endearing that viewers voted him their favourite ever Skins character in a 2013 poll.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
Dempsie went on to play Gendry in Game of Thrones from 2011-13, and he’s also appeared in two of Shane Meadows' T his Is England series. You can find him on Instagram at @josephdempsie.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
Kaya Scodelario
As Tony's younger sister Effy Stonem, Scodelario started out on Skins ' fringes, but became the show's main attraction in series three. Effy was a smart non-conformist with great grungy style, but her behaviour became increasingly erratic and she later developed psychotic depression. Like Hannah Murray, Scodelario returned to Skins a few years later for her own feature-length episode, in which we saw Effy building a career as a city trader.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
Her post- Skins CV includes appearing in the Maze Runner movies and starring in Andrea Arnold's gritty take on Wuthering Heights. Kaya and her husband, actor Benjamin Walker, had a baby boy in December. Later this year we'll see her opposite Johnny Depp in the new Pirates of the Caribbean film.
Photo: Ecosse Films/REX/Shutterstock
Kathryn Prescott and Megan Prescott
These identical twins played Emily and Katie Fitch in series three and four. Emily, the more introverted twin, grappled with her sexuality and came out as gay, which caused friction with her somewhat shallow and homophobic sister. Later, Katie grew up a lot as she was given the heartbreaking news that she couldn’t have kids.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
After leaving Skins in 2010, Kathryn starred in US teen drama Finding Carter. She also has a lead role opposite Lucy Hale in the upcoming movie Dude. Megan is now balancing acting assignments with presenting work and bodybuilding. Check out the Facebook page for her bodybuilding doc Dumbbells and Donuts here.
Photo: Via @megartron
Jack O'Connell
O'Connell was an instant hit as Cook, a scrappy but charismatic bad boy who said he wanted to "squeeze the fuck out of every day". In typical Skins style, Cook was actually a more complex and soulful character than he first appeared: When he realised his younger brother was copying his self-destructive lifestyle, he soon decided to man up.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
O'Connell won the BAFTA Rising Star award in 2015 for his awesome performance in Angelina Jolie's Unbroken and has two movies due this year: The Man with the Iron Heart, a war thriller with Rosamund Pike based on the bestselling novel HHhH, and Tulip Fever, a period drama with Alicia Vikander. Keep an eye on him, for sure.
Photo: REX/Shutterstock
Luke Pasqualino
Pasqualino's Freddie McClair began as Cook's laid-back bestie, but then the boys realised they both had feelings for Effy. Freddie also squabbled with sister Karen, who shamelessly used their mother's death to further her pop career in a super-ropey girl group called Da Sexxbombz.
Photo: Courtesy of Channel 4
Post- Skins, Pasqualino landed parts in the BBC dramas Our Girl and The Musketeers. Next comes a lead role in Snatch, the upcoming TV series based on Guy Ritchie's film. It also stars Harry Potter 's Rupert Grint and Gossip Girl 's Ed Westwick, so presumably someone in the casting department was a huge teenage pop culture junkie in 2008-9.
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