13 years on, this is what the cast of Skins are up to now

‘Skins’ was a staple of British youth culture. It tackled groundbreaking issues such as sexuality, mental health and drug abuse, and gave us all a warped expectation of how college would.

I vividly remember 15 year old me watching the batshit crazy things they got up to across the three generations, and looking towards college with anticipation, expecting to have as chaotic and messy time as them. Needless to say I was dissapointed.

From the ever memorable first generation, to the not so memorable third, the cast have been up to a lot in the seven years since the show came to an end. But who made it big in the acting world? And who gave it up all together? The Tab reveals what every generation has been up to since featuring in one of the most iconic teen dramas in TV history.

First Generation:

Nicholas Hoult (Tony Stonem)

Tony was the sociopathic antagonist of the first generation, and every 14 year old girls biggest crush in 2007.

The actor who played him, Nicholas Hoult, wasn’t a stranger to the limelight before his starring role in ‘Skins’, appearing as the main character in the 2002 film ‘About a Boy’ alongside Hugh Grant.

Hoult has amassed a long list of roles following his stint on ‘Skins’, depicting Beast in the X-Men franchise, as well as starring in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ and ‘Warm Bodies’. He’s also taken up modelling, and is the frontman for Emporio Armani. Hoult is currently dating American model Bryana Holly.

Hannah Murray (Cassie Ainsworth)

Cassie Ainsworth was a fan favourite of first gen. Bubbly and eccentric, she suffered from severe mental health problems including anorexia. Her character’s arc was groundbreaking in raising awareness of mental health and eating disorders, giving a platform to previously taboo subjects.

More recently, Murray has featured in a few films and TV series, including Game of Thrones, where she portrayed a Wildling called Gilly.

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April Pearson (Michelle Richardson)

Michelle was the confident cool girl, obsessed with “looking shagable”. She was the on and off girlfriend of Tony who, much to her dismay, was jokingly nicknamed ‘Nips’ by him.

Pearson hasn’t been in anything particularly noteworthy since ‘Skins’, but her Instagram is filled with pics of her travelling, working out and ‘Skins’ throw backs. Looks like she’s living her best life tbh.

Mike Bailey (Sid Jenkins)

Sid was the cringey, awkward kid that every school had. Best mates with Tony, a large part of his character arc in the first season was getting him to lose his virginity, and was best know for his tragically cringeworthy moments, such a masturbating over a picture of his best friends girlfriend.

Bailey has been rather quiet since ‘Skins’, only featuring in a couple of series, including ‘Hers and History’ (ik I’ve never heard of it either), and a few short films. In 2017, he revealed to the Radio Times that he is now married and recently completed a degree in Theatre and Drama.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t appear to have a social media for stalking.

Joe Dempsie (Chris Miles)

Chris was the lovable rogue of the first season. Know for his hedonistic lifestyle and fondness of class A’s, he formed a relationship with his psychology teacher which was just all kinds of bizarre. In the second season, Chris sparks a romance with Jal Fazer, and meets a tragic end after suffering haemorrhage, but we do not talk about that… it’s still raw.

Like fellow first generation cast member Hannah Murray, Joe went on to star in Game of Thrones as Gendry. He’s also featured in films and shows, including TV mini-series ‘This is England ’86’, and has offered the voice Arbert in two of the ‘Final Fantasy’ video games. Judging by his Insta, Dempsie is into his football, and is involved with a lot of charity work – we always knew he was a good guy!

Larissa Wilson (Jal Fazer)

Jal was the most straight-laced and sensible member of the group. A gifted clarinet player and nice person all round, she was the daughter of a music producer and rapper called Ronny Fazer.

Wilson has featured in a few episodes of ‘Casualty’, and some other shows, but has remained relatively out of the limelight, with no TV or film credits since 2014. According to her Instagram, Fazer has a young daughter, and recently made her directorial debut with her project ‘Shift’, although as of yet, nothing has been revealed about the nature of it.

Mitch Hewer (Maxxie Oliver)

Maxxie was well liked, level headed and an extremely talented dancer. He’s openly gay and proud of who he is, but struggles with the fact that best friend Anwar (Dev Patel) doesn’t agree with his sexuality. In the second season, Maxxie finds he has a stalker, which was just another thing on the long list of crazy storylines on ‘Skins’.

Hewer has pretty much left the acting world behind, having only featured in a few shows after ‘Skins’. According to his Instagram, he now lives in LA, where he works as a personal trainer and nutritionist, and regularly uploads videos of himself dancing and singing. He’s clearly a man of many talents!

Dev Patel (Anwar Kharral)

Despite his strict religious views, Anwar was depicted as a character who loved drugs, drinking and premarital sex. The first season sees him struggling to accept best friend Maxxie’s sexuality, due to his Islamic faith, but ultimately supports him following guidance from his family. In season 2, Anwar ends up dating Maxxie’s stalker, Sketch, who tries to change everything about him to emulate Maxxie.

Easily one of the biggest break out stars of ‘Skins’, Patel has starred in huge Hollywood hits such as ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘Lion’, for which he won a BAFTA as Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He is currently dating Australian actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey.

Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Lucy Sketch)

Sketch was introduced in the second season and was portrayed as a delusional girl who obsessed over Maxxie, going as far as to break into his flat. She dates Anwar for a while until he realises how she’s manipulated him, and leaves her to move to London with Maxxie.

Edwards has gone on to feature in a long list of shows since ‘Skins’, most notably as Esme Shelby in ‘Peaky Blinders’ and Jenny Jones in ‘Luther’.

Daniel Kaluuya (Posh Kenneth)

Posh Kenneth was arguably one of the most jokes characters in first gen. His iconic trait was using a heavy inner-city London accent before reverting back to his actual posh one.

Although his role in ‘Skins’ was relatively minor, Kaluuya has gone on to have a hugely successful Hollywood career. He starred in blockbuster hit ‘Get Out’ as well as ‘Black Mirror’ and Marvel film ‘Black Panther’. He’s rumoured to be dating actress and producer, Amandla Crichlow.

Second Generation:

Kaya Scodelario (Effy Stonem)

Effy was the younger sister of Tony and the only centric character to appear in more than one generation. She was perhaps the coolest character to ever grace our screens, and it’s safe to say that everyone had a crush on her at one point or another. She was charismatic, clever and had a rocky relationship with many of her friends. She found herself at the centre of a love triangle with Cook and Freddie, and a large part of her character arc saw her struggling to deal with these relationships, ultimately falling into a deep depression.

Scodelario may have had a bumpy first few years of post-‘Skins’ life, featuring along Robbie Williams in the tragically hilarious music video for ‘Candy’, which is essentially just three and a half minutes of Robbie Williams jumping in front of cars and punching random people for no reason as Kaya walks down the street. Nonetheless, her career has picked up massively since then, and she has starred in some huge Hollywood hits, most notably playing Teresa in ‘The Maze Runner’ franchise.

Kaya has devastatingly been married to American actor Benjamin Walker, and her Insta if filled with lots of cool pics from photoshoots and the odd ‘Skins’ throwback.

Luke Pasqualino (Freddie McClair)

Freddie was the on again off again boyfriend of Effy, and ended up quite literally dying for her at the end of season 4 in a shocking (and low key kind of unnecessary? idk) turn of events. He was constantly trying to juggle his problematic best mate Cook, along with family issues and Effy, and I could never help feeling as though his death was completely unwarranted, but oh well.

Pasqualino has had a pretty fruitful career post-‘Skins’, starring as D’Artagnan in ‘The Musketeers’, as well as in ‘Our Girl’ alongside Michelle Keegan.

Lily Loveless (Naomi Campbell)

Naomi is principled and passionate, and initially an outsider of the group. In the third season, she struggles to come to terms with her feelings for Emily Fitch, and is ridiculed by Emily’s twin sister. She has an interesting home life, living in a sort of commune with her eccentric mum (played by Olivia Coleman!), and a string of radomers. Naomi makes a reappearance in ‘Skins’ Fire in 2013, where she lives with Effy, and is tragically diagnosed with cancer.

Loveless has been on our screens a few times since ‘Skins’, most recently appearing in the Netflix show ‘The Stranger’, where she played the Strangers accomplice, Ingrid Prisby. She’s very vocal about politics over Insta and Twitter, which we love to see, and even has the odd ‘Skins’ tb on her account.

Lisa Backwell (Pandora Moon)

Pandora was the ditsy best friend and polar opposite of Effy. Her famous line was “I’m Pandora and I’m useless”, and was depicted as being extremely naïve and immature due to her overbearing mother. Despite her self-confessed stupidity, towards the end of season 4 we discover Pandora has randomly received a place at Harvard on a history scholarship along with her on and off boyfriend Thomas Tomone.

Backwell has gone off the radar a bit since ‘Skins’, not appearing in anything since 2012. Her Instagram is very wholesome (something we’d expect from the iconic Pandora Moon), posting lots of tb pics to her as a kid and of picturesque walks.

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Kathryn Prescott (Emily Fitch)

Emily Fitch appeared on ‘Skins’ alongside her identical twin sister, Katie, and was the quieter and sweeter one of the two, often perceived as Katie’s ‘doormat’. She had a rocky relationship with Naomi at the beginning, struggling to admit her sexuality to her family while Naomi was reluctant to admit her mutual feelings.

Since ‘Skins’, Kathryn has maintained her acting career, featuring in ‘To the Bone’ alongside Lily Collins, as well as in Netflix Original ‘Dude’ with Lucy Hale. Judging by her Insta, Prescott is also into photography, uploading loads of edgy pics from around the world.

Megan Prescott (Katie Fitch)

Katie was the more dominating out of the twins, and way more concerned about looks and social status than Emily. She took an absolute beating from Effy one night in the woods but somehow still managed to forgive her, suggesting that she matured as the series went on – the type of character development we love to see!

Megan has landed less acting gigs than her sister, and although her Instagram bio describes her as an “Actress. Writer. Influencer 🙄” she has only appeared in seven things since ‘Skins’, with her last appearance in the documentary ‘Sleeping Rough’ in 2018. She’s gotten really into her fitness, showing off her buff body on social media in various body building competitions. Prescott regular pictures of her and the ‘Skins’ lot, so it’s nice to see they’re all still in contact!

Merveille Lukeba (Thomas Tomone)

Thomas recently emigrated from the Congo at the beginning of season three, and his loyalty and honesty makes it difficult for him to adjust to the new culture. Similarly naïve Pandora was one of the first people he met on his arrival to the UK, and it marked the beginning of their bumpy relationship. His iconic line that he proudly announced was “I run like a dog”, and because of his running skills and in spite of him being kicked out of college, he received a scholarship at Harvard along with Pandora.

Lukeba doesn’t appear to have any social media, however he has gone on to feature in a few things since ‘Skins’, most notably as Raoul in Sky Atlantic show ‘Riviera’.

Ollie Barbieri (JJ Jones)

JJ is innocent, naïve, and often confused by the behaviour of his friends due to his autism. He also fancies Effy, but is desperate not to let her get in between him and his two best friends, Cook and Freddie. He is easily frustrated due to people not understanding him, and is often led into precarious positions by Cook.

Barbieri hasn’t featured in much since ‘Skins’, with his last acting credit in 2017. His Insta is filled with pics of food, animals and, again, ‘Skins’ throw backs.

Jack O’Connell (James Cook)

Cook was the raucous, careless and all round dick of the group. He was caught in the love triangle with Effy and Freddie, and was responsible for much of the shit that went down in the group, corrupting many people (in particular Effy) into committing crimes. The famous ‘I bought a fucking gateau’ quote is easily one of the most meme-able lines of the entire show.

O’Connell was one of the biggest breakout stars of the show, and has gone on to feature in loads of huge Hollywood hits, including ‘Unbroken’ which was directed by Angelina Jolie, and ”71′. In 2015 he won the Rising Star award at the BAFTA’s.

Third Generation:

Dakota Blue Richards (Franky Fitzgerald)

Undoubtedly one of the WORST characters in the entire ‘Skins’ history, Franky was the main protagonist of series 5 and 6. I’m not being funny, but Franky was literally responsible for every single bad thing that happened in series 6 and NO ONE called her out on it, she just got away with everything!!! Rant over… anyway, Franky was initially perceived as being a loner who didn’t fit it. She stood out because of her androgynous fashion sense and quirky art (which she literally abandoned in series 6 because she’s a sheep). She was caught in a love triangle between brothers Nick and Matty Levan, and later becomes best friends with her bully and tormentor Mini McGuinness.

Dakota had made a name for herself before landing her ‘Skins’ gig, starring as Lyra in ‘The Golden Compass’ alongside Nicole Kidman. She’s had a few TV credits since the show, most recently playing Margaret Osborne in ITV’s ‘Beecham House’.

Her Insta is filled with aesthetic Huji pics and boujee art, which fits her so well imo.

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Freya Mavor (Mini McGuiness)

The designated Queen Bee of Roundview college, Mini is power hungry and obsessed with maintaining her position as top dog. She sparks a secret relationship with Alo in series 6, and is reluctant to tell him that she is pregnant with his baby, confiding only in Franky (for some reason) until weeks before she gives birth.

Freya is also a model, and was the face of Scottish fashion brand, Pringle (Not the crisps). She’s also landed herself an extensive list of roles following her stint on ‘Skins’, including starring in French drama ‘Twice Upon a Time’. Judging by her Insta, it’s no wonder she speaks French. She uploads edgy pics of her art a long with her poetry, and snaps from various photo shoots.

Will Merrick (Alo Creevey)

Alo, jokingly nicknamed ‘Farm Boy’ by Mini, was probably the best character to come out of the thirds gen. He spends most of his time in his van with best mate Rich, and is unlucky in love until he finds Mini. He was known for his avid interest in pornography, and had a brush with the police following his sexual encounter with underage girl, Poppy Champion.

Merrick has racked up an extensive list of acting credits since ‘Skins’, most notably portraying Arthur Solway in ‘Poldark’.

Jessica Sula (Grace Violet Blood)

Grace was the prim and proper ex-private school daughter of Roundview College’s Principle, David Blood (although she managed remarkably well to keep this a secret from her friends). She forms a relationship with Rich, much to the dismay of Mini, and spends a lot of series 5 coming to terms with who she wanted to be as a person. Tragically, at the beginning of series 6, Grace was killed when a car driven by Matty Levan crashed of the road while in pursuit of Franky (thanks Franky). Through much of series 6, Grace returns to Rich and other members of the group in visions and hallucinations, and it’s never quite clarified if Rich actually did sleep with her while she was in a coma (bizarre I know).

Sula has arguably gone on to become one of the most successful out of the third gen. cast, featuring in M. Night Shyamalan’s 2016 Blockbuster hit ‘Split’, as well as the ‘Scream’ TV series with Tyga and Keke Palmer.

Sean Teale (Nick Levan)

Nick was the school jock (for some reason, third gen. writers really played on the American high school tropes, which is wildly inaccurate for a British college setting). Captain of the rugby team and boyfriend of Mini, they were supposedly the power couple of the Roundview. As the series progressed, Nick renounced his old ways, deciding that the jock life wasn’t for him. In series 6, despite his brother Matty being on the run and in love with Franky, Nick falls in love with her too. It’s never confirmed whether or not they end up together, but for his sake I hope they didn’t.

Teale featured in historical drama ‘Mr Selfridge’, and will be starring in the Apple TV+ comedic drama ‘Little Voice’, set to come out this year. He dated Australian actress Adelaide Kane for a few years but the couple ended things in 2016. Judging from his Insta, Teale is living and working between USA and the UK.

Sebastian De Souza (Matty Levan)

Matty is the mysterious, rebellious brother of Nick. He becomes part of the group after forming a relationship with Liv, but ultimately dates Franky. After the death of Grace, Matty spends much of the sixth series on the run from the police in Morocco, before returning to Bristol to hand himself in to the police.

De Souza has gone on to star in several shows since ‘Skins’, including American teen drama ‘Recovery Road’ with fellow third gen. star Jessica Sula. He also featured in the show that everyone has been going mad about in lockdown, ‘Normal People’, and played alongside first gen. ‘Skins’ star, Nicholas Hoult, in ‘The Great’.

Laya Lewis (Liv Malone)

Liv is part of Mini’s gang and, while initially she would do anything for Mini, she later finds herself distanced from her following the death of Grace. She befriends new boy Alex, much to Mini’s dismay, and struggles to come to terms with the death of her friend.

Laya hasn’t done much following ‘Skins’. She’s landed the odd TV role, but nothing particularly noteworthy. Her Instagram bio describes her as a ‘Beer & Food Lover’, ‘Anti Fast Fashion’ and a ‘Travel Addict – Offseter’, move over Greta Thunberg.

Alexander Arnold (Rich Hardbeck)

Rich was the resident metal head of the group with an extreme distain towards anything that wasn’t alternative. Much to his surprise, he starts dating Grace, who is the polar opposite of him in all respects. In series 6, he struggles to accept Grace’s death, and spends much of the season imagining conversations with her.

Arnold has most notably starred in the film ‘Yesterday’ alongside Lily James, as well as portraying Jim Carter in the first season of ‘Poldark’.

Joe Cole (Luke)

Luke only appeared briefly on the show and, along with Franky, was responsible for a lot of the drama that went on in the sixth series. He meets the group in Morocco and it’s quickly established that he’s a massive dick who doesn’t care for anyone but himself. Back home, he leads Franky down a dark path of violence and crime before she realises that he is an untrustworthy person.

Despite having only a short stint on ‘Skins’, Cole is worth noting because of illustrious career since the show. He’s starred as John Shelby in ‘Peaky Blinders’ as well as featuring in a ‘Black Mirror’ episode and has recently starred in Sky original ‘Gangs of London’.

Sam Jackson (Alex Henley)

Alex was only in the sixth season of ‘Skins’ and quickly became best friends with Liv. Weirdly, one of his first interactions with the gang was getting them to help dump the body of his dead grandma into the sea (which I’m pretty sure is very illegal and high key unnecessary). He relied on luck to solve things for him, carrying around a six-sided die wherever he goes.

Jackson has appeared in a few things since ‘Skins’, notably ‘Holby City’ and ‘Drifters’, although he hasn’t had any acting credits since 2017. According to his Instagram, he now owns a vegan cheese business in London called Nettle.

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