BROOD FOOD

10 Jamwy 2010
5
THE ESSENCE OF ADOLESCENCE
We meet the girls from 'Skins'
OB, WIIA.T IT WAS LIKE TO BE YOUNG...
Sue Townsend and others recall their teenage years
BROOD FOOD
Sarah Raven and her daughters get cooking
Kaduyn wears: vest by Tom. from Matches, leggings by Gucci and shoes by Christian Louboutin. I.ily wears: jacket by Gucci, boots by Jonathan Kelsey, T-shirt by Wild Fox and jeans by MiH leans, both from Matches. Kuyu
wears: dress and shoes by Gucci. Usa wears: dress by Gareth Pugh, from Browns, leggings by Gucci and shoes by Christian Louboutin. Megan wears: dress by Warehouse, shoes by Jonathan Kelsey and bangles by Freedom,
and Daisy & Eve. from Topshop
..: t.··· .
FROM FAR LEFT
KATHRYN PRESCOTT,
LILY LOVELESS,
KAYA SCODELARlO,
LISA BACk'WELL A..'ID
MEGAN PRESCOTT
FL
MOB
Love, sex, drugs, alcohol, anorexia, homosexuality, religion, death ­
all the ingredients for a gripping, highly charged drama. But about
teenagers? As the controversial, award-winning television series 'Skins'
wraps filming its fourth season, Sophie Wtlson catches up with its young
stars on set and asks what's getting under their own skin
Photographs by ehris Brooks
Dressed up in sequins and shoulder pads
that would make Alexis Carrington blush,
five teenage girls pose for the camera.
As they alternate between moody pouts
and impish grins they suddenly, as one,
cover their eyes, ears and mouths in
a loose approximation of the three wise
monkeys. See no evil, hear no evil, speak
no evil. As if.
For these are not just any teenagers,
but the female stars of the E4 drama
Skins. About to enter its fourth serie ,it
revolves around the Lives of a group of
Bristol sixth-formers and has come to set
the benchmark for edgy youth drama,
aimed at teenagers but also consumed by
the not- o-teenag , who can appreciate
such unlikely cameos as Maureen
Upman playing a cannabis-growing
auntie. Funny and surreal, SJcins ptures
that youthful feeling that anything could
happen - and it usually does, from
bacchanalian woodland romps to drug­
fuelled clubbing via eating disorders and
unwanted pregnancy. Whether this
brings you out in hives or sends you
racing to set the Sky+ may depend on
your parental status and tolerance for
low-slung fashion.
Either way there's no denying the
show's influence. If it wasn't for Skins
Dev Patel might never had played the
lead in Slumdog Millionaire - the director
Danny Boyle's teenage daughter spotted
him as Anwar, in the first two series, and
tipped off her father. Without Skins Beth
Ditto might never have stormed the
charts with her band, Gossip - their
single Standing in the Way ofControl
only took off after it soundtracked the
orgiastic promotional trailer for the
debut series. And what other teen
drama has spawned its own tabloid
scare? In 2007 so-called' Skins parties'
became the scourge of middle England
after a County Durham girl threw
a house-party - gatecrashers saw it
advertised on My Space as a .Skins
Unofficial Party' and caused £20,000
of damage. Last year Skins won a Bafta
audience award and MTV is currently
developing an American version.
Imagine being part of all that when
you're still a teenager yourself. I ask
the girls, who range in age from 17 to
19 and are the product of regular
comprehensives rather than stage
school, how they've handled the
pressure, The youngest, Kaya Scodelario,
was only 14 when she landed the central
role of Effy Stonem, an enigmatic wild
child who responds to the breakdown of
her parents' marriage - just one of many
stella 21
doomed adult relationships in the show
- by partying ever harder.
'My mum's quite open-minded - she's
Brazilian and I think that helps. She
brought me up on her own, as a single
parent, and I think she's very honest with
me and very open about sex. I can always
talk to her about it: she says. 'I think she
understood that Skins isn't about
influencing young people, it's more
about being honest to the fact that
nowadays some teenagers do certain
things and it's all a part of growing up
and learning. And it's not just lazy and
crazy teenagers; it's something everyone
goes through and it makes you the
person you are. It's interesting, so let's
make a television show. Let's show it
and be honest.'
for ratings, which other dramas regularly
do. What we try to do is tell really
emotional, universal stories that talk
about the pain of being a teenager; the
amount they drink, the drugs they take,
the sex they have is just sort of a given.
We don't ever want our audience to feel
they're being preached to.'
I felt the same way when I was the
editor of the teen magazine ]J7. Readers
sent 1,000 letters a month to our problem
pages, ranging from 'How do I get
a boyfriend?' to 'Am I pregnant?: and we
answered them as directly as we could,
ever wary of being hauled before TMAP
(Teenage Magazines Arbitration Panel)
should our content be deemed too
risque. This was eight years ago, before
cyber-bullying and sexting - the texting
of seA')' photographs - had swept through
playgrounds and into newspaper
~or the Londoners Lily Loveless, 19,
lrand Kathryn Prescott, 18, playing
headlines. I wonder how teenage
Naomi and Emily, embarking on
girls have changed since then. On the
their first lesbian
evidence ofSkins they
relationship, came
are more upfront, but
with responsibilities.
does the show portray
A fan site, naomily.
girls as more knowing
corn, has sprung up
than they actually are?
in homage to the pair,
Griffirl is in his forties
while some viewers
and doesn't have
have even shared
children, but is
their own coming-out
godfather to three
teenagers. 'I was
a punk: he says with
a
smile, when we
meet on set in Bristol.
'We were told we were
the terribly degraded
generation.' He
concedes that the
show was a little 'boysy'
early on, but is pleased
with the way it has
balanced out, thanks,
in part, to taking on
stories. 'I had this American
young female writers
KATHRYN PRESCOTI AND
LILY LOVELESS IN THE
grown-up woman write to me
alongside the creators,
NEW SERIES
and say that she'd finally come
Bryan Elsley and his
out to her mum. Now her mum accepts
son Jarnie Brittain.
her after watching the series,' says Lily.
Georgia Lester started writing for Skins
'They've written it so well, I just feel
when she was 17- Like many of her peers
she had been raised on a diet of glossy
honoured to play it,' adds Kathryn.
John Griffin, the producer of the neW
American teen dramas: 'In The OC
series, says that Skins is never issue­
or Gossip Girl there's all these male
driven. 'We don't just make a character
characters coming to save the female
lesbian in order to keep the audience
characters. Whereas I think we've got
figures up. And we don't rape people
good, strong female characters,' she says.
'We don't just
make a character
lesbian to keep
the audience
figures up. And
we don't rape
people for ratings'
""1)'
26% ofgirls believe good
looks will get them further
in life than education or
personality (Superdrugstudy. 2008)
l\UcheUe Obama is the
mostpopnlar role
model among girls aged
to 21, followed by Cheryl
Cole, Rebecca Adlington
and JK Rowling
16
(Girlguiding UK survey, 200g)
More than a thirdof
Jdrls aged 16 to 21 have
nad unprotected sex
(Girlguiding UK survey, 2009)
50% of IS-year-old girls
in Britain have been drunk
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development repol1, 2009)
the average Twitter
user is a girl in her late
teens (Box UK study, 200g)
Half of teenage girls
would consider having
surgeryto change their
appearance
(Girlguiding UK survey, 2009)
C~esconumdttedby
. Is aged 10 to 17 rose
y 2S% between 2003 and
2007 (Youth Justice Board, 2008)
Teenage girls send
an avera,ge 49S texts
a montli. (Sugarmagarine. 200g)
17% ofgirls aged 14 and 15
have tried cannabis.
tried cocaine
2% have
(Schools Health Education Unit survey. 2009)
86% ofgirls aged 16 to
describe themselves
as happy
21
(Girlguiding UKsurvey, ,oog)
In 2008 4'7,000 more
women than men
were accepted on
degree courses
(Higher Education Policy Institute repOI1, 200g)
steIJa
23
Now 20 Lester has penned an entire
episode. It centres on Katie, hitherto
a bit of a Wag, played by Megan Prescott,
Kathyrn's twin sister. 'Katie has this
perception that everything should be
perfect: Lester says. 'I think that all
teenage girls have that - whether it's
about losing your virginity or living up
to your parents' expectations. We're all
sitting there thinking we want candles
and rose petals, and it's never like that
Nothing is ever perfect.'
IC) ack at the Stella photo-shoot,
~ the girls are sprawling on the floor
checking their mobiles and leafing
through tell.1books. They have four
boyfriends, three tattoos and two belly­
button piercings between them. Lily is
a self-confessed film geek, Kathryn
enjoys baking, Kaya is into festivals and
is an enthusiastic Tweeter. All agree that
Skins is exaggerated for entertainment ­
it's the emotions more than the lifestyle
that ring true.
Kaya may play the show's queen bee,
but she says that she was far
from confident when she
was growing up in north
London. 'I was bullied quite
a lot in school and I didn't
know what I was going to do
at college. I had no idea;
Of all the girls Kaya is perhaps the
most polished. When I ask about her
relationship with co-star Jack O'Connell,
who plays the rebellious Cook, she
responds without missing a beat: 'About
a year ago we were seeing each other and
we sort of decided it was better off having
a working relationship than anything
else, but we're still really, really good
friends and I care about him a lot.'
By contrast Lisa Backwell, 19, is given
to endearingly freewheeling one-liners
reminiscent of her character, Pandora.
She's from Bristol, where, in her spare
time, she's a pool lifeguard. Has she ever
had to save anyone? 'No, not yet. It's
probably a good thing; it means people
can swim: she says, sagely.
We move on to discussing some of
the plot-lines that crop up in the show.
Is teenage binge-drinking on the rise,
I wonder? Lily is qUick to state that
'teenagers aren't just teenagers. We're
not a type of person, but an age group,
meaning not one of us is the same.' Point
taken. Why do they think Britain has
such a high teenage­
pregnancy rate, the
largest in Western
Europe? A lack of decent
sex education is the
unanimous verdict.
'Teachers are almost too
most people get eating disorders is
because they want to be skinny, but they
do it stupidly and they stop eating
completely - nobody knows anything
about nutrition or exercise. I thirlk it
should be a separate subject in school.
People who go to uni still can't cook for
themselves. Why haven't you learnt?'
As the photo-shoot winds down there's
an end-of-term feel to proceedings.
Tomorrow is the final day of filrning,
after which the cast will be dumped to
make way for a younger intake - no
twentysomethings masquerading
as sixth·formers here. Where does
that leave our fab five?
With youth unemployment rates at
their highest since the early 1990S it's no
surprise that many of them are pursuing
back-up plans alongside acting. Kathryn
will study psychology at university,
Megan media production and Lisa
chemistry or art. And if acting works out?
The twins would like to branch out
into non-twin roles, while Lisa fancies
a period drama. 'I wish I was born then:
she says. 'Even though it was sort of a bit
bad with the hygiene and the plague
or whatever, I find it so magical. It's
probably really idealised because of
TV but at the same time... aww, I loved
Little Dorrit and Bleak House.'
Lily wants to play 'someone with
a slight mental problem, not
like a psychopath, though'.
Kaya professes a liking for gritty,
1980s fare. She has two films
out this year, the thriller Shank
and the Clash ofthe Titans
remake, plus she is about to
appear in a music video for
a friend's band, Plan B, and take
a much-needed holiday.
As they head off into the big, wide
world, the class of 2010 are excited and
impatient to make their mark. But first
things first. What are they going to wear
to the wrap party tomorrow night?
Kaya needs to dye her hair and get her
nails done. And then there's the eternal
conundrum of heels versus trainers.
Do the Skins cast have shambolic Skins
parties? I daren't ask. Colin in catering is
going to DJ but that's all they'll reveal. 0
'Teenagers aren't
just teenagers.
We're not a type
of person, but
an age group,
meaning not one
of us is the same'
embarrassed to teach
it, so they haphazardly
plonk on a VCR of some
SCENES FROM SERIES THREE
I felt really lost.' Now, at l7,
laughable cartoons
FROM TIlP USA BACKWELL AND
she has shot fashion stories
having sex: says Lisa.
KAYA SCODELARIO; KATHRYN
for Vogue and Elle. 'I met
'Young people end up
AND MEGAN PRESCOTI
Mario Testino and he knew
making stupid mistakes
who I was, so that was pretty amazing:
because they just don't know any better
she says. Not that she's into high fashion:
and are too scared to ask their parents
'I'm just a jeans and T-shirt kind of
because ofwhat they might think of
person.' Pause. 'These aren't even my
them: adds Kathryn.
jeans; they're Lily's. She left them at mine
She also thinks that schools should
a year ago.' Lily looks on in mock horror,
provide nutritional advice. 'They should
teach people to be healthy. The reason
before they dissolve into giggles.
24
stella
Seriesfour of 'Skins' starts on
28 January on E4