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Crowds of hopefuls await their audition |
Who’ll be the next Skins star?
Thousands of teens flock to Highgate school seeking a role in controversial C4 show
THOUSANDS of teenagers from across the borough descended on a Highgate secondary school for two days last week – all hoping to land a part in Skins, the controversial Channel 4 drama series renowned for its “teens-behaving-badly” storylines involving sex, drugs and booze.
With the sea of fashion cut hairstyles, ripped T-shirts and trendy cardigans, anyone walking past Parliament Hill School on Thursday or Friday might have been forgiven for thinking they had stumbled across a secret Arctic Monkeys gig, the queue for Glastonbury or a Kate Moss sale at Top Shop.
Instead, they were witnessing nearly 10,000 teens – some without any acting experience – flocking to the school for a shot at impressing the Skins’ producers.
Directors are hoping to assemble a new cast, with current actors leaving the show as their characters leave school and move on.
While the show’s unflinching take on adolescent life hasn’t pleased everyone, one of the older visitors to the audition was clearly a fan.
Mother-of-five Chelsea Goldsworthy, 39, didn’t let the age limit put her off and turned up on Friday to compete for a role herself.
She said the drama – which has featured orgies and drug-fuelled parties – is a good ice-breaker for difficult issues.
“It’s our family bonding time,” she said. “We all sit together to watch it – it’s good for discussion. I point out things like how the characters are not using condoms.”
Skins gained early notoriety after an ad campaign depicted its stars – including About A Boy Nicholas Hoult – half naked and lounging on a bed. Episodes that centred on drugs and sex won it a legion of young fans who felt they had finally found a TV show that represented them.
Sophie Hewitt, 16, a former Parliament Hill student, said: “It’s the first of its kind. There are hardly any teenage programmes that take input from teenagers. It’s about us, not us as part of a family. It’s what we get up to.”
But its no-blushes-spared style is not to everyone’s tastes.
Awate Suleiman, 16, of Maiden Lane, Camden Town, said he was only at the auditions to support a friend. He said: “Skins is a visual representation of Sodom and Gomorrah. I would not want my little sister to watch it. It promotes drugs and promiscuity at a young age.”
Awate warned that Skins not only portrayed teenagers unfairly as sexually obsessed druggies but, worse, encouraged youngsters to emulate the cast.
The auditionees will hear in the next few weeks whether they have won one of the lead roles. Shooting for the third series begins in the summer.
A Skins spokeswoman said: “We’re looking for fresh young faces. We’d like a set of identical twin girls and an eastern European looking guy. Storylines are in the very early stages and haven’t been developed yet.” |
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