Skins - Where are they now?

LAST Thursday saw the launch of the new series of E4’s critically-acclaimed teen drama Skins.  The Bristol bunch are back, but it is a new cast.  As they attempt to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, here is what ten of the stars from the first two generations have done since leaving Skins for pastures new.

Nicholas Hoult

POPULAR: Nicholas Hoult has made a decent film career for himself

Who did he play in Skins: Tony Stonem

What his character was like: Tony was a attractive, popular character who took the lead role of the first generation.  Most of the main storylines in the first two series were centralised around his characters.

What has he done since Skins: Before Bristol life, he featured in the film About a Boy.  Since Skins, he has appeared in the movie A Single Man, has recently been cast in an X-Men movie spin-off which is due for release this summer and was nominated for a BAFTA film award in 2010, although he lost in his category to Kirsten Stewart.

Kaya Scodelario

Who did she play in Skins: Effy Stonem

What her character was like: Effy was the only character to have appeared in all four series of Skins.  She had a back part role in the first generation and barely spoke.  She took the lead role of the second generation, taking the headlines for being caught in a messy love triangle with best friends Cook and Freddie.  Effy’s characters traits were very similar to those of her bigger brother, Tony.

What has she done since Skins: Kaya has also made the move into movies since Skins, starring prominently in the gang movie Shank.  She has also had supporting roles in Clash of the Titans, appeared in two of Plan B’s music videos in 2010 and does a lot of modelling for fashion magazines.  Behind her career, Kaya is currently dating the Shameless star Elliott Tittensor.

Lily Loveless

FIERY: Lily Loveless career promises to be full of passion

Who did she play in Skins: Naomi Campbell

What her character was like: Naomi began out as an outsider in the second generation.  Fiery and a real political activist, she thought she knew who she was, and didn’t care about what anyone thought about her.  This was challenged by Emily, who chased and chased Naomi throughout the third series.  Cue the ‘Naomily’ phenomenon, which despite some rocky patches, ended in two happy endings.  In the fourth series, Naomi is more open towards people, due to having found happiness with Emily. 

What has she done since Skins: Lily Loveless has been very busy since finishing on Skins.  She has appeared on CBBC drama Combat Kids, done some short films, with one due to be screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and has just finished filming the Sarah Jane Adventures for BBC.  Her portrayal of Naomi was critically acclaimed by many, and these projects seem to highlight Lily’s high regard to many in the world of television acting.

Mike Bailey

Who did he play in Skins: Sid Elliott

What was his character like:  Sid was Tony’ best friend in the first two series of Skins, but struggled to fit into the stereotypes of the group.  Lacking confidence within himself, his relationship with Cassie was one of the main highlights of the first two series.

What has he done since Skins: Mike is one of the few who has almost disappeared totally since he finished Skins in 2009.  His most recent credit was in the Channel 4 drama; 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth, which was nearly 18 months ago.  

Hannah Murray

PROMISING: Hannah has proved she can do multi-tasking 

Who did she play in Skins: Cassie Ainsworth

What her character was like: Cassie was a very popular character with the Skins fans.  Best friends with Michelle, her on-off relationship with Sid, which went lots of places was a highlight.  The difficult relationship with her parents led Cassie to end up in some very precarious positions.

What has she done since Skins: Since Skins, Hannah is building up a very promising portfolio of work, largely in theatre and TV.  Later this year, she will play the role of ‘Emily’ in her debut movie, Chatroom.

Jack O’Connell

Who did he play in Skins: James Cook

What his character was like: The ‘Cookie Monster’ was one of the leading characters in the second generation.  His charismatic, all thrills attitude towards life saw him in some harassing scenarios.  He fought with Freddie for Effy’s heart in series three, slept with Pandora and ended up in jail for assault.  The whereabouts of whether he survived past series four are unknown, after a final confrontation with Effy’s psychiatrist; Dr John Foster.

What has he done since Skins: Before Skins, Jack had already experience a share of the limelight in Doctors, The Bill and Holby City.  Since Skins finished for him, Jack starred in the critically acclaimed BBC2 drama Dive last summer and played ‘Marky’ in the film Harry Brown.  He also won Best Actor for his role as Cook in Skins at the 2010 TV Choice awards.  Jack has a lot of potential to go a long way in his acting career.

Dev Patel

Who did he play in Skins: Anwar Kharral

What his character was like: A very humorous character, Anwar’s faith is questioned at times, especially as he doesn’t follow most of the Muslim guidelines.  He believed that homosexuality was against his religion, which put a strain on his friendship with Maxxie.  He ends the show boarding a bus to London.

What has he done since Skins: There can be no doubt that Dev Patel has had the most success out of anyone since Skins.  He took the main role as Jamel Malik in Danny Boyle’s hit movie, Slumdog Millionaire.  Patel won a host of awards for his starring role and should a Skins movie take place, Dev will reignite his character as Anwar.

Kathryn Prescott

CHANGES: Kat's character, Emily went from shy to confident in no time

Who did she play in Skins: Emily Fitch

What her character was like: Emily began Skins life as a wet blanket.  She was very shy and often in the shadow of loud twin sister Katie.  As the series progresses, Emily is more sure of her sexuality and develops strong feelings for teen activist Naomi.  They have to overcome many obstacles, including Katie, her pestering mother and Naomi’s cheating in series four.  After attempting to punish her lover back, Emily eventually forgives Naomi in a heart-warming conclusion to series four for ‘Naomily.’

What has she done since Skins: Kat began filming for a pilot show, Goth last year, which is expected to be picked up by Sky1.  She has also filmed a minor part in medical drama Monroe and will make her film debut in the horror movie, Lethal later this summer.  She has her own website and keeps up-to-date with many of her fans on a regular.

April Pearson

Who did she play in Skins: Michelle Richardson

What her character was like: Michelle was a very confident character, with an arrogant side towards herself.  She was together with Tony at the start of their Skins life, but split up when he cheated on her.  Her hedonistic lifestyle takes her to the edge and Michelle, after briefly dating Sid, gets back with Tony, although their future was thrown into question as they planned to head for separate Universities at the end of the second series.

What has she done since Skins: April made a cameo role in BBC medical drama Casualty after Skins and her first movie and last known work was in Tormented, a horror comedy in May 2009.

Luke Pasqualino

BRUTAL: Freddie's death shocked fans, but Luke is carving a leading role.

Who did he play in Skins: Freddie McClair

What his character was like: Freddie likes skateboarding and smokes weed.  He fights his best friend Cook for Effy’s affections, even shagging Katie when he thinks that Effy wants Cook.  When Effy makes her mind up, it’s Freddie who she wants and their relationship is pushed to the limit in series four, when Effy’s mental health takes a turn for the worse.  There is no happy ending for the pair, as Freddie is brutally beaten to death with a baseball bat by John Foster, Effy’s crazy psychiatrist in the penultimate episode of series four.

What has he done since Skins: Like April Pearson, Luke has appeared in Casualty in Skins, starred in an episode of the award-winning comedy Miranda and just recently, has earnt himself a leading role in the new series of Battlestar Galatica. 

As you can see, Skins opens the doors for many actors/actresses and hopefully, the third generation will get the same opportunities as these terrific ten stars.

The fifth series of Skins continues with ‘Rich’s’ episode on Thursday night at 10pm on E4.

Skins - New series, new cast, more pressure!

THE time of year has come again, it’s the end of January and next week sees the much anticipated new series of E4’s award-winning teen drama Skins.  The Bristol based show enters into its fifth series, and although everyone should expect some of the usual stereotypes about Skins, such as hedonistic teenage lifestyle choices, sex, drugs and drink – there is a lot of change elsewhere around Roundview College.

Yes, it is time to welcome the third generation of Skins, as once again, the producers and writers have decided to start with a clean slate.  Unlike the last cast cull, which did have two characters in the form of Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario) and Pandora Moon (Lisa Backwell) who provided continuity through Series 1+2 into 3+4, there are no exceptions this time around.  Effy, JJ, Naomi, Cook, Pandora, Thomas, Katie and Emily are no more and have moved onto pastures new.  It’s time for the new cast to fill their boots, and there is no doubt, that the pressure is on.

CHANGE: The new cast of hit teen drama Skins, can they deliver?

This year, there are eight new characters, all with very different backgrounds.  Some of the new actors were chosen from the open auditions held last spring, others with very minor TV credited roles, with only Dakota Blue Richards having a natural acting background.  Dakota starred in The Golden Compass alongside Nicole Kidman and the 16-year old has also been involved in two other high-profile movies.  Now, the London-born actress takes on the role of Franky Fitzgerald and it’s her character that takes the lead as the first episode next Thursday night.  We find out that Franky has moved to Bristol as a last-minute switch from Oxford.  She comes with a lot of emotional baggage, having been bullied at her previous school, and immediately struggles to fit in, especially with the other girls at the college; best friends Mini (Freya Mayor), Grace (Jessica Sula) and Liv (Laya Lewis).  Although Mini takes Franky under her wing reluctantly, she is determined to dig up some home truths that might leave Franky in an even more perilous situation than before.  

The producers have promised that the darker, consequential Series four has been replaced, admitting it didn’t work for the fans.  Skins will return to its hard-hitting approach, with comic appeal and hopefully, some more pleasant endings for the new generation.  To complete the cast, are music mad Rich (Alexander Arnold), rugby captain Nick (Sean Teale), Matty (Sebastian de Souza) and Aloysius (Will Merrick).  After the success of the ‘Naomily’ story in the last two series, there has been speculation of a gay character plot, but the producers and E4 are remaining very tight-lipped about the entire series to date.  Mystery is the best word to describe the goings on.

The lovable and brilliant Doug (Gilles Thomas) returns for a fifth series as head of Roundview and comedian Chris Addison will return in a cameo role as the controversial and cocky college director David Blood.  Model Kelly Brook will also have a guest appearance as a fitness instructor.  Skins has been well renowned for its guest appearances from the likes of Harry Enfield, Ronni Ancona, Pauline Quirke, Paul Kaye, John Bishop, Harry Hill, Morwenna Banks and Simon Day in the past four years, so expect more of the same this time around.

There is undoubtedly going to be more pressure on the third generation, as change has been greeted with a very mixed response from the hardcore Skins fans.  The show continues to remain afresh because of this change in cast every two years, meaning it will still have a place in the TV viewing schedules for a while to come.  With the likes of Dev Patel, Nicholas Hoult and Kaya Scodelario all going onto huge movie roles, Skins has been seen as a brilliant starting point for young actors and actresses to really inspire to.  The jury will be out, but it is only fair to give the new breed some time to settle into the new roles.  Judging them on one episode would be very harsh and unnecessary.

So it’s out with the old, in the new, what impact Generation three will have on us?  Find out when Series 5 of Skins begins next Thursday at 10pm on E4.

Skins - Can The New Cast Deliver?

NEW CAST: from left to right, Alexander Arnold, Dakota Blue Richards, Sean Teale, Sebastian De Souza, Will Merrick, Laya Lewis, Freya Mavor and Jessica Sula.

A fortnight ago, E4 announced the new eight members who will be pioneering the popular teen drama Skins through the next two series.  Series five, which begins in January 2011, will see a new crop of young actors/actresses who will deal with the crazy hedonistic teenage lives, full of sex, drugs and family disfunctionality based around Roundsview College in Bristol. 

Skins changes its cast members every two years and has become one of the most talked about shows on UK television, since it burst onto our screens in February 2007.  Back in April, open auditions were held in London and Bristol, with approximately 7,000 people auditioning to get a role in the third generation.  Five of these new members have come directly from the open auditions.  Dakota Blue Richards is the only member of Generation Three who has previous acting experience before, having starred in the 2007 movie, The Golden Compass.

Unlike the last generation, which had Kaya Scodelario (Effy) carry on from the initial generation breakthrough, this is a brand new slate for the new group and over eight episodes next winter, they will get their chance to shine.  They certainly have the backing from the executive producer of Skins, John Griffin.

“More people than ever turned up this year for the open auditions in London and Bristol and the standard of young talent was as high as ever.  It was a huge process but incredibly rewarding and we hope that those who auditioned ended up as much fun as we did.”

The new crop hasn’t been given any character names as yet, though they should be revealed soon.  Though I admit that they seem to miss the sex appeal that many fans saw in the likes of Kathryn Prescott, Megan Prescott and Lily Loveless from the last generation, what matters the most is whether this lot can act.  It will be a tough act to follow from the success of the first two generations, but they need the time to rubberstamp their authority on Skins and I do hope the fans will stick by them and give them the time required to settle into a very daunting proposition.  Kelly Brook has already been confirmed as a guest star and comedian Chris Addison will return to play the dynamic college director, David Blood.

Skins have helped promote the careers to fame of Dev Patel, Nicholas Hoult, Kaya Scodelario and Jack O’Connell.  Its success means that it has been E4’s second highest ratings show, after the US sensation Glee.  For those who miss the old members, there will be a Skins Movie which is being written by former writer of the show, Jack Thorne.  Hoult, Patel and Scodelario are all on the verge of being confirming for the showpiece next summer, with more cast members set to be announced in the near future.   Below is a video that was released by Channel 4 yesterday, which shows the lighter side of filming for the last series.

I wish the new generation the best of luck for the future – they all deserve a chance at the big time.

Twitter vs Facebook - The Facts & Milestones

The debate is bound to rage on: Which social networking giant is really the best?  Some will prefer to Tweet, others prefer Farmville; tastes will depend on whoever you associated yourself with.  However, with Twitter having recently celebrated its 20^th billionth tweet – just days after Facebook notched up its 500^th millionth member, here are some interesting facts about the two dominant leaders in social networking.

Facebook

Facebook was founded in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerburg – whilst he was studying a Psychology course at Harvard University.  In 2006, Zuckerburg rejected a $1billion takeover offer from Yahoo.  One year later, he sold a 1.6% stake to Microsoft for £117million.  This year, figures suggest that Facebook is estimated to make $1billion.  Users post videos, pictures, status updates and pictures on their own personal profiles.  They connect with their friends via Facebook Chat and can have total control on who has access to personal information.  Facebook makes most of its money by targeting advertising to certain individual’s likes and dislikes.  Statistics suggest that Facebook users will spend around eight billion minutes on the site every day, and they send about a billion messages via Facebook chat.  It is almost impossible to tell whether famous people are using the site – fan pages are more likely to pop up.  Recently, a tribute page to the UK’s most wanted man, Raoul Moat was set-up.  ‘RIP Raoul Moat You Legend!’ attracted 30,000 fans and received serious condemnation from David Cameron.  It has since been removed.  A campaign to get the 1992 song ‘Killing in the Name’ by Rage against the Machine was successful in December 2009 for the coveted prize of Christmas No.1.  It beat ‘The Climb,’ by UK X-Factor winner Joe McElderry, in a bid to put an end to Simon Cowell’s domination of the Xmas No.1.

MY VIEW OF FACEBOOK: I joined Facebook back in July 2007, after being sent a friend recommendation.  Honestly, I didn’t think it would catch on, I hadn’t even heard of it before then.  However, I spend a load of time on Facebook and despite receiving some criticism of late – some of it deserved, it will remain king of the social networking world in my view.

Twitter

Twitter was created in 2006 by work buddies Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey.  It started initially as a side project to a blogging website.  There is no source of revenue so far for Twitter, with many waiting to see how it will generate profit.  People write short updates called ‘Tweets,’ of 140 characters or less.  These are posted to your profile/blog and sent to all of your followers.  In 2007, about 5,000 tweets were sent a day, with that increasing to 300,000 messages per day in 2008.  Famous celebrities who regularly tweet for their millions of fans include Jamie Olivier, Alan Carr, Dannii Minogue, Amanda Holden, Tony Blair, Kaya Scodelario, Stephen Fry, Lily Allen and Barack Obama.

MY VIEW OF TWITTER: I joined Twitter last October, as it was an expected requirement of my first year Journalism course at The University of Northampton.  To be honest, I rarely use it, although I will pop on from time-to-time to see what my friends and celebrities I’m following, and post the occasional updates, normally about this website.  Twitter is not my favourite site, but is a nice back-up to have, should I require it and it is one hundred times better than my MySpace account, which I closed down this summer due to lack of activity.   

Skins Movie Is Confirmed - Will It Work Out?

Yesterday saw the new that all fans of E4’s teen-hit drama Skins had been waiting for, official confirmation of the production for Skins: The Movie.  Since the fourth series of the teenage drama concluded in the middle of March, full of sex, drugs and breakdowns, there have been growing rumours that a movie was being planned for the future.  Now, it will finally happen.  Production on the film will be based in the Isle of Man and the traditional home of the show, Bristol and starts this September.  The planned launch date is Summer 2011.

The popularity of Skins is huge, with more than 1.5million tuning into the opening episode of the last series.  The show has made big stars out of Dev Patel, star of Slumdog Millionaire and Nicholas Hoult, both actors as part of the first generation.  Generation two’s cast are already getting starring offers to feature in other primetime shows and movies.  Kaya Scodelario (Effy Stonem) has already brokethrough into the box office, with successful movies, while Luke Pasqualino (Freddie McClair) has already been working on a feature-length which is due for a summer release.  The popular lesbian couple on the show, Emily Fitch and Naomi Campbell, played by gorgeous actresses Kathryn Prescott and Lily Loveless are set to star in new shows over the coming months, whilst Jack O’Connell (James Cook) is rumoured to be cast in BBC’s school drama, Waterloo Road.

It is unclear how many of the former characters will return for the movie, though hints suggest it will be based more around the second generation.  However, there will be parts in the movie for the third generation of Skins.  Already, auditions for Series five and six have taken place, with a new cast to be selected in the summer.  The fifth TV series of Skins will burst onto our screens next January.  The movie is to be made by Company Pictures, the makers of the E4 show.

The transfer to the big screen from a TV show is always a challenge and it remains to be seen whether it can work.  Both Pokémon and Power Rangers failed to complete the transformation successfully, so it remains to be seen whether Skins will buckle the trend.  No doubt it is a gamble, but Jack Thorne, the well-respected scriptwriter and regular writer of Skins and the creator of the show, Bryan Elsley will put their hardest efforts into this ambitious project and give the fans what they want, an unforgettable movie to go alongside the successful TV series.  As an avid fan of the TV series, I personally can’t wait for this to hit the cinemas.  Let’s hope it’s going to be a massive success.   

Skins - Farewell Generation II

Tonight marks the end of another era for E4’s teen drama Skins, as the second generation of cast say goodbye to Bristol, moving onto pastures new.  They have given us plenty of memories and moments to remember, so they shall not be forgotten.  Their acting skills have shone through, particularly in this darker series, where the storylines have sadly, not matched up to the required standard.

It has been a brave move by the writers and creators of Skins to opt down the consequential and deeper route, but they may want to take the fans views into consideration, abandon the idea and head back to the traditional stereotype that Skins has set itself up, since it burst onto our UK TV screens in 2007.  For example, the lack of group scenes between the gang this series has been startling.  It is these types of scenes that make Skins what it is, and therefore, that’s why I think Series four has been the weakest so far.  True, in a character’s episode, they need to take the main focus and understandably so, but without the rest of the gang, it’s not the same.  By choosing the dark and deeper route, it means the storylines have had to be darker than ever before, and this has simply not worked.  Some episodes have left many, including myself feeling far-fetched and confused.  They have tried hard to make things work, but when an experiment fails; the best solution is to go back to basics. 

Also, I struggle to believe that with just eight episodes this series, some actors haven’t had enough screen time.  Naomi (Lily Loveless) and Pandora (Lisa Blackwell) did not get an individual episode, whilst Pandora and Katie (Megan Prescott) have been so under-used this series, and have not had the time they have required to show their real talent.  I just hope this particular cast are not remembered for blunders and mistakes from the writers, because this cast I believe have more talent than Generation I.  When you think of Dev Patel’s rousing success in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and Nicholas Hoult’s Hollywood breakthrough, then surely that bodes well for Generation II.

The curtain-closer tonight brings all of Series four’s storylines to a rapid conclusion.  The main focus will be on the mysterious disappearance of Freddie (Luke Pasqualino) from the gang.  As we all know, Freddie was battered to death last week; rather gruesomely it must be said by Effy’s mad psychiatrist Dr. John Foster, with a baseball bat!  Freddie’s sister, Karen is hunting around for answers, and she believes that Cook (Jack O’Connell) has something to do with it.  Elsewhere, Pandora announces that she is leaving Bristol, but what does that mean for Thomas?  Thomas (Merveille Lukaba) cheated on Pandora in the very first episode this series, proving that there is some use for hospital laundry rooms after all!  Since then, this storyline has faded into oblivion, and the Congo lad’s growing feelings for Katie are intensifying, so he has a big choice to make; Katie or Pandora. 

Also, Naomi will put her feelings on the line tonight, in the final act to win over Emily’s heart.  Like Thomas, Naomi played away, when Emily (Kathryn Prescott) found out about her fling with Sophia, who killed herself ninety seconds into the series.  Since then, Emily can’t even stand to look at Naomi, and is determined to get revenge on her idealistic girlfriend.  However, when Naomi makes one final emotional and moving speech, will Emily finally be able to forgive and forget?  Also, Effy (Kaya Scodelario) is back in the mad world, she has gone fully loop-de-loop, but is she going to find out what happened to Freddie, or is the evil John Foster going to finish the job…

So many questions still to be answered, fingers crossed that these and more will be answered in a dramatic finale that promises a lot of emotion, conflict, confession and trauma.  Skins series four has been a letdown, but hopefully tonight, we are treated to a brilliant final spectacle.  Watch it on E4 at 10pm to find out. 

Finally, the best of luck to Lisa Blackwell, Ollie Barberi, Kaya Scodelario, Jack O’Connell, Lily Loveless, Luke Pasqualino, Kathryn Prescott, Merveille Lukaba and Megan Prescott.  All nine of you have incredible talent as actors, we will miss you massively, thank you for making Skins watchable over the past two years, and I wish you all the best for the future.  FAREWELL GENERATION II.