Episode 4 Stills

Episode 4 is Michelle’s episode.

BBC Talking Shop: April Pearson

E4’s flagship teen drama Skins caused controversy last year with scenes of teenagers having sex and taking drugs.

The new series, which features guest appearances from Shane Ritchie and Bill Bailey, offers more of the same.

April Pearson, 19, who plays Michelle, talks about Skins parties, finding fame and her grandparents’ reaction to the series.

You were born and bred in Bristol. Is that the same for many other cast members?

I think five of us are born and bred in Bristol and the rest are from elsewhere but I think the idea at the beginning was to try and get as many Bristolians as possible.

It adds another layer of reality to it because we all know where the Skins crew hang out - I think it does help.

During filming, the Bristolians stay at home and the rest of them stay in a very posh hotel. We try and hang out here as much as possible but we got told off a few times for doing that.

Are you friends with the other actors?

Of course. Now the bulk of the filming’s finished we’re just trying to keep in touch and I think we probably will.

When we were filming we used to hang out all the time and we’d always try to go out as a group. As the show got more popular, it was obviously a bit more difficult when we were trying to move around as a group because people kept recognising us.

Were there any cast parties and were they as wild as the ones on the show?

I’m not sure whether they were as wild. But we’re a group of young teenagers who got together so it got pretty frisky, if you will.

What is it like filming those trademark Skins parties?

Generally party scenes, although they look fun, go on all day because there’s so many angles you have to get.

In fact, they’re generally quite tiresome after a while. In between each shot you just stand around and then dance again when they say action.

What was the wildest party you went to as a teenager?

Probably a house party where someone’s house got completely trashed. I think every teenager’s been to a party like that.

Your character Michelle split up with her boyfriend Tony (played by About A Boy star Nicholas Hoult) in the last series. Will they be getting together in series two?

I couldn’t possibly divulge that information. But Michelle definitely has a few liaisons in series two and whether that’s with Tony or with another member of the cast, I will leave up to you.

In series one, Tony messes about with other girls but Michelle keeps going back to him. Was Michelle right to do that?

I think she was blinded by the fact that he was the coolest guy around and the hottest guy in town and she felt like she had to grab hold of him and keep hold of him.

I wouldn’t have if it was me. I think I would have chucked him miles before he messed me around that much.

What can we expect from the second series?

We’re all a lot better because, for most of us, Skins was our first ever job. So we know the score and we’re acting a bit better - from my point of view anyway.

Can you tell us a secret from the new series?

There are two deaths. They could be main cast, they could be ancillary cast, it could be anyone. I’m not saying more than that.

How well do you think Skins tackles teenage issues?

I think that’s one of the best things about it, it’s definitely true and honest and faces issues that teenagers have without trying to make it a morality issue.

It’s not trying to force it down your neck and saying “this is the moral of the story, you don’t have to do this”.

How has your life been changed by Skins?

I wouldn’t ever say it’s changed in a bad way. It’s opened up so many doors and taken me on the career path I’ve always wanted.

I get recognised in town a bit I wouldn’t say it’s hindering my life in any way.

Sometimes it gets a bit annoying when you just want to go get some milk, but I haven’t ever had anyone coming up to me and saying they hate me and they want me to die.

What do your parents and grandparents think of the show?

My parents have got used to it now. Right in the beginning, it was a bit of a shock but they’ve learnt to love it, I think. As for my grandparents, I’m not sure they’re coming around to the idea right now.

I think they’re looking forward to me doing something a little less controversial and hopefully that will happen.

April Pearson was talking to BBC Entertainment reporter Liam Allen. The new series of Skins starts on E4 on 11 February at 2200 GMT.

SOURCE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7235356.stm

Nicholas Hoult [Tony], the Reluctant Heartthrob

 Alex: Haha, at April’s comment.

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Nicholas Hoult apparently hasn’t got used to being a heartthrob.

The Skins star - who plays super cool bad boy Tony in the hit show - finds it “weird” having female fans, reports the Daily Mail.

Nicholas, 18, told the paper: “My sister said that one of her mates at school had a picture of me on her wall. People have Orlando Bloom on the wall, not me. That’s just weird.”

But it seems his co-star April Pearson - who plays his girlfriend Michelle - finds the About A Boy star very attractive.

She said: “In my first scene I had to straddle Nick and snog his face off.

“I hadn’t seen About A Boy and when they told me I was going to snog Nick Hoult, I Googled him. All I could find was pictures of this weird-looking boy and I thought, ‘Oh no, I have to kiss a boy with a pudding-bowl haircut.’ Then when he walked in the room I thought ‘Brilliant’.”

SOURCE

Sexy Dance 3some in Skins

Alex: The title of this post is taken from the Sun. My English is better. Also the scene they are refering to in this article is the nightclub scene in episode one. See part three second video.

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CONTROVERSIAL teen drama Skins is back with a bang with scenes of gay sex, dirty dancing, raving, violence and drug taking.

But the young stars of E4’s slick Bristol-set series are insisting that their own lives are nowhere near as exciting!

April Pearson, who plays the show’s resident babe Michelle, goes to a rave in the first episode and has a hot three-way dance with two young hunks.

“I’ve never been to a party like that, I’m afraid,” said April. “It looks amazing on the screen though.

“I hope that girls my age can relate to Michelle and the things she does. But a lot of the things that she does, I would never do.”

“She feels neglected by her boyfriend and wants attention from other men I hope girls don’t copy what she does.”

The scene also sees Sid - played by Mike Bailey - on an LSD trip, but the young star insisted: “I don’t go to parties like that myself!”

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article779680.ece

New Episode One Trailer

Thanks to Skinsonline for these screencaps.

April Pearson (Michelle) to Star in Casualty?

From what I can work out from the following article, April who plays Michelle is to appear in a forthcoming episode of Casualty .

http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.1990301.0.boxing_brothers_are_a_knockout.php

Series Two Images

Maxxie:

Michelle (from Trailer):

(I personally think that is a stunning image, I don’t mean of April but just the whole scene, it’s so dark and gritty and reflects the tones of this new series (yeah I do kind of know what is going to happen)

Behind the scenes:

Thanks to Skinsonline for spotting them

Happy news from the Daily Star

An article on This is North Scotland - link - who in turn are quoting Daily Star - are reporting that April Pearson (Michelle) and Mike Bailey (Sid) are going to be axed after this new series because they are too expensive.

They aim on keeping all of the other actors (including Nicholas Hoult who plays Tony, whom lets face is the most famous out of all of them (and so presumably the more expensive *shrugs*)) but will look to recast April and Mike’s parts.

How genuine is this? Not sure. Personally I can’t see this being true at all (and this is the Daily Star who are the original source!), but my problem with this is that I can’t see at the moment, having not seen the new series, how they can keep Skins beyond S2 because the show is meant to reflect kids aged 17-18 who are at college and so at some point would go to university. Okay so this is TV but even so it’s not going to be realistic if (1) none of them decide to go to uni - highly unlikely, especially in Jal’s case or (2) if they all go to the same university.

If they do send them to uni then it would too complicated because they will have to introduce new characters, the characters will be doing different things, etc.

As much as I enjoy Skins I do feel that there has to be a cut off point somewhere - better to end on a high than drag it on through countless series.

Thoughts?

Edit:

I’ve just reread the article and I noticed it said the producers are hoping to persuade Nicholas Hoult to stay on to direct a few of the episodes of S3. It makes it seem like to me, by the use of "persuade" that there has been some sort of fallout?