Skins survives again

Skins gets two more series – and another all-new cast
John Plunkett, Guardian

Channel 4's digital network E4 has commissioned two more series of its award-winning teen drama Skins, which will hire an entirely new cast for the second time in its short history.

Open casting auditions will take place in London and Bristol next month for the fifth series of the show, which has previously featured Nicholas Hoult, Jack O'Connell, Kaya Scodelario and Dev Patel.

The fifth and sixth seasons of the Bristol-based drama will continue to be made by independent producers Company Pictures and Stormdog Films for E4, scripted by a team of young writers and teen contributors and overseen by series creators Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain.

Channel 4 said the fourth run, which comes to an end next Thursday, 18 March, had outperformed all previous series with an average consolidated audience for its first E4 transmission of 1.3 million viewers.

The Channel 4 head of drama, Camilla Campbell, said: "Skins has always been about new talent, both on and off screen, and the decision to recast the series every two years is one of the reasons Skins stands out as a truly distinctive show. It's a testament to the talent and commitment of Bryan Elsley and his team that they are able to pull this off."