It's hard to believe that it's been 15 years since Skins first shot onto our TV screens.
For many millennials, Skins took them through their difficult teenage years as a group of runaway teenagers and their dysfunctional families navigated through life in the late 2000s to early 2010s.
The hard-hitting E4 programme featured hilarious moments and well-written, multi-faceted characters, and it dealt with prevalent issues from hard drugs to eating disorders and everything in between.
Running for six years and winning numerous awards, including Best TV Show at the 2011 NME Awards, many were sad to say goodbye to the quirky pals when the show finally ended once and for all in 2013.
The unique show catapulted many famous faces to global success as some went on to win Oscars and star in some of the biggest TV shows and movies in recent years.
Meanwhile, others completely stepped away from the limelight and embarked on a more 'normal' way of life.
Here, we take a look at what the original cast members of Skins are up to now...
Nicholas Hoult - Tony
Tony was a divisive character throughout the first two series of the E4 show with his painfully cocky and confident demeanour.
As the episodes went on however, Tony faced more than his fair share of troubles after being hit by a bus.
After slowly recovering, his story ends on a happy note as he's able to go to university with his girlfriend Michelle.
The handsome heartthrob had a taste of movie stardom before Skins, when he starred alongside Hugh Grant in About A Boy in 1996.
Since appearing on Skins, the actor has made it big in Hollywood, and has appeared in the X Men franchise playing Henry McCoy, otherwise known as Beast.
He has also appeared in Tolkien, where he played the lead as well as Clash of the Titans and Mad Max: Road Fury.
Kaya Scodelario - Effy
Effy Stonem made her debut in the first two series of skins as Tony's little sister, before becoming a main character in the next two seasons.
A seemingly quiet teen, she lived a double life – transforming into a troubled night-owl, partying beyond her tender years once the clock struck midnight.
One of the show’s longest serving character, Effy became the central figure and had three friends competing for her affections.
She made her film debut in sci-fi thriller Moon in 2009 before appearing in the Hollywood blockbuster remake of Clash of the Titans.
Things have only got better from there as Kaya has become a Hollywood mainstay as well as modelling for Teen Vogue, Nylon, Instyle UK, Elle UK and Vogue.
The actress starred in all three films in the Maze Runner trilogy and alongside Johnny Depp in the latest Pirate of the Caribbean movie - Dead Men Tell No Tales.
She even returned to the series that made her as an adult Effy in Skins' special Fire episode.
In 2019, she played the lead in Netflix drama series Spinning Out, and Ted Bundy's wife in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, as well as landing a gig as the face of Cartier.
After a brief romance with her Skins co-star Jack O'Connell, Kaya married actor Benjamin Walker in 2015, having met him when they starred in The King's Daughter in 2014.
The couple both adopted the surname Scodelario-Davis, and they have one son, who was born in November 2016 in New Zealand, where they live.
Daniel Kaluuya, who was another of Kaya's Skins co-stars, is her son's godfather.
Dev Patel - Anwar
Dev Patel landed the role of goofy Anwar without any previous professional acting experience.
The characterisation of Anwar was partly based on Patel's personality and the role was written specifically for him after he was cast in Skins having bunked off school to audition on his mother's orders.
During the second series, Dev was always flying back and forth from India for "this little film with Danny Boyle", which would end up being smash hit Slumdog Millionaire, in which he played Jamal, and the film cleared up with eight Oscars at the 2009 Academy Awards.
Dev has now won a multitude of accolades including a BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Critics' Choice Award, as well as being nominated for an Oscar for his role as Saroo Brierley in Lion alongside Nicole Kidman.
To play Saroo, an Indian child who was separated from his family and adopted into an Australian family, Dev beefed up and totally transformed.
To prepare for the role, Dev spent months alone in India travelling by train, visiting orphanages, meeting with Saroo’s Indian and Australian families, to help him form what he called "a truthful memory map".
After this initial success, Dev had expected more parts to come knocking for him - but he found he was being typecast as a "goofy sidekick" character with an Indian accent.
He told The Guardian he felt a similar thing had happened to his Slumdog Millionaire co star Freida Pinto - while she was landing huge Hollywood roles, she tended to play an "exotic beauty next to all these Caucasian leading men".
But when Dev was cast as David Copperfield in The Personal History of David Copperfield, he was baffled to learn he was playing "basically Charles Dickens".
He told The Guardian he initially turned down the role, afraid his ethnicity would distract viewers if no explanation was offered as to why the character wasn't white.
But similarly, Dev had so often been cast as Indian characters when in fact he is British.
He recalled feeling he was "not British enough to be fully British" but "not Indian enough to be fully Indian".
He starred also in The Best Exotic Marigold hotel, Hotel Mumbai, and The Green Knight, which was released this year.
Daniel Kaluuya - Kenneth
Posh Kenneth got his nickname for trying to make it as a rapper while being very well spoken.
While Kenneth was a small role in Skins, Daniel himself was a contributing writer during the first two series and was head writer for two episodes.
Following on from Skins, Daniel appeared in Silent Witness and Doctor Who, as well as Black Mirror episode Fifteen Million Merits.
Kaluuya appeared as Agent Colin Tucker in the 2011 film Johnny English Reborn and was Black Death in Kick-Ass 2.
Daniel has been on the up ever since, having played a supporting role in 2015's Sicario, before leaving us all terrified as the victim in horror movie Get Out in 2018.
He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance and received the BAFTA Rising Star Award.
The actor then entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing tribe leader W'Kabi in Black Panther in 2018.
This year, Daniel won an Oscar for his supporting role as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah, for which he also won a BAFTA, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award.
He was the the first British actor of African heritage to win an Academy Award.
Daniel is in a relationship with Amandla Crichlow, the daughter of civil rights campaigner Frank Crichlow, one of the Mangrove Nine.
Hannah Murray - Cassie
The scatty and lovable but fragile Cassie Ainsworth won many fans over with her kooky personality.
The troubled teen suffered from a crippling eating disorder and other mental health issues but had the support of her friends.
She had an on-off romance with Sid, who came all the way to New York to find her, with fans praying for them to become a couple from the start.
Although the blossoming will-they-won’t-they sexual tension between the pair sparked love, chaos and despair over two seasons.
Actress Hannah initially turned to the stage for post-Skins success, making her debut as Mia in West End production That Face.
Since then she’s gone on to appear in the teen horror-drama, Chatroom, and nab a spot next to Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's Dark Shadows.
In 2014 she starred in God Help the Girl, for which she won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, in 2015 she starred in Bridgend, for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Tribeca Film Festival and in 2017 she was in Kathryn Bigelow's film Detroit.
In 2018, she played the lead role of Leslie "Lulu" Van Houten, the convicted murderer and former member of the Manson Family, in the film Charlie Says by Mary Harron.
Her biggest role to date has been as wildling Gilly in Game of Thrones - becoming one of the longest-serving characters in a show known for killing everyone off.
After having a recurring role as Samwell Tarly's girlfriend she became part of the main cast for the final four seasons.
Joe Dempsie - Chris
The party boy with irresistible charm, Chris famously had a cheeky fling with his own teacher and they first had sex on a Russian field trip.
The frequent pill popper then got into a serious relationship with Jal and had to deal with being abandoned by his family.
In possibly the most heartbreaking moment of the entire show, Chris' life came to a tragic end.
Chris died of a hereditary brain condition in devastating scenes - with all his friends gathering together for his tear-jerking funeral.
Joe went on to star in Doctor Who, Merlin and as Higgy in the This Is England series.
He made the jump to the silver screen in football film The Damned United, but his really big break came in Game of Thrones in 2011.
Joe played Gendry, the illegitimate son of King Robert Baratheon, who had a strong claim to the Iron Throne.
His character became a hilarious meme after going off in a row boat at the end of season 3 and not returning for another four years.
In January 2021, it was announced Joe was cast as Nick in the upcoming Netflix thriller series Pieces of Her, which is adapted from the Karin Slaughter novel of the same name.
April Pearson - Michelle
Michelle, nicknamed "nips" by boyfriend Tony, struggled with her cheating man while dealing with the affections of his best friend Sid.
At one point it looked like Michelle would choose Sid, but she got back with Tony after his car accident, although the final episode left it unclear as to whether they would stay together.
After Skins ended, April made her film debut in comedy horror slasher Tormented in 2009 before moving into theatre roles.
April then transitioned into horror and independent films including Fractured and Caught- and has also appeared as three different characters on Casualty.
Her role of Amy in Dark Beacon in 2017 earned her two Best Actress awards at American Horror and Upstate NY Horror film festivals.
She followed this with her portrayal of Isla Crane in Edgar Wallace's The Case of the Frightened Lady at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, in which she received high praise for her performance
Discussing whether she still sees her former co-stars, Michelle told NME: "Oh no, they’re Hollywood stars now. I think a lot of them do still hang out, but I don’t see them as much as I would like to.
"When Skins finished I wasn’t ready to jump straight into moving to London and going to auditions all the time, so I took a bit of time."
In 2017, April married film director Jamie Patterson, and in 2020 she started up her own podcast called 'Are you Michelle from Skins?' where she interviews celebrities.
Mike Bailey - Sid
Sid started off as a desperate lad trying to lose his virginity, but quickly became a fan favourite.
Almost everybody could relate to Sid’s inability to conform to teenage expectations without getting sweaty palms or falling over himself.
The loveable teen finally stepped out of Tony’s shadow in his absence following the road accident and rescued girlfriend Cassie from the grips of anorexia.
Following on from Skins, Mike appeared in Channel 4 drama 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth as well as teen comedy We Are The Freaks in 2012.
The Bristolian got married in June 2015 - and it's believed some of his Skins co-star were there to celebrate.
In 2017, Mike ditched acting to become a teacher - having obtained a drama degree and teacher training, and he teaches drama at a secondary school in Bristol.
He told RadioTimes: "I kind of thought ‘what the f**k am I doing with my life?’ and ended up getting in a conversation with the wife a couple of years ago and decided that those who can’t act teach.
"Ten years ago I never thought I’d still be talking about it, but [Sid] still does pop up every now and again.
"I mean, it’s always kind of been there. It’s kind of fizzled out over the years, but I mean, it was always a good thing."
