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The dark side of Skins: How the controversial teen drama which glamourised drugs and partying left its young cast feeling 'unprotected' with 'compromising' sex scenes and a lack of safeguarding

Skins followed the hedonistic lives of a group of Bristol-based sixth formers in the mid noughties and captivated its audience with its gritty and realistic storylines.

Series one of the programme followed Tony Stonem (Nicholas Hoult), Chris Miles (Joe Dempsie), Sid Jenkins (Mike Bailey), Michelle Richardson (April Pearson), Cassie Ainsworth (Hannah Murray) and Anwar Kharral (Dev Patel) among others. 'Whether the atmosphere on the set was simply a sign of the times before the industry woke up to deeper care requirements or whether it was merely a dark underbelly to an already gritty show, it casts a shadow across one of the most infamous and iconic pieces of TV history. The raunchy teen drama was a huge critical success in its initial run, with the show changing focus in season 3 and 4 to centre on Tony's sister Effy (Kaya Scodelario) and her cohort when they began sixth form.

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