Yahoo News Skins: who's had the best post-show career?
It's ten years today since teen drama Skins first launched itself at an unsuspecting world. They're all adults now, with mortgages and lawnmowers and pensions, probably.
The groundbreaking E4 show featured 27 major characters across three "Generations" – but how have the actors fared since appearing on the show? It's ranking time!
27. MIKE BAILEY (Sid Jenkins, Generation 1)
We feel bad for placing Mike at the very bottom of the list, but that's mainly because he played one of the show's most popular characters in dorky Sid, and has since gone on to do... not so much. His acting career has stayed quiet since a role in 2013 British film We Are the Freaks, but he'll appear in Reunion in Hell later this year. He has recently worked as a sales and marketing officer in London.
26. OLLIE BARBIERI (JJ Jones, Generation 2)
JJ was one of the few characters from series two to appear in every episode of three and four, but Barbieri has remained quiet on the acting front aside from the British comedy film Anuvahood in 2011 and a couple of short films. Judging from his Twitter feed though, he seems to be having a grand time.
25. MERVEILLE LUKEBA (Thomas Tomone, Generation 2)
Since Skins, Merveille has continued acting with a guest spot in a 2012 episode of Lewis and a lead role in the supernatural web-series Making Sparks in 2013. However, he's been pretty quiet since then - and took a 'Twitter break' last year.
24. LAYA LEWIS (Liv Malone, Generation 3)
Laya has continued to feature on TV from time time since Skins. She starred in the music video for Emeli Sandé's 2012 hit 'My Kind of Love', an episode of the sitcom Cuckoo in 2014 and in ITV's short-lived Jekyll and Hyde revamp.
23. LISA BACKWELL (Pandora Moon, Generation 2)
After playing Panda on the show, Lisa has generally stayed out of the spotlight. However, she did appear on the West End alongside Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss, in a 2011 production of The Children's Hour - and she also guested on ITV's Endeavour in 2012.
22. MEGAN PRESCOTT (Katie Fitch, Generation 2)
The first of the Prescott twins (Kathryn is further up the list, obvs) has popped up on British telly here and there, with roles on Silent Witness and Holby City in 2012 and 2013 respectively. However, you might be surprised to hear that she's become a bodybuilder in recent years – her Instagram pictures need to be seen to be believed. Is that really Katie?
21. MITCH HEWER (Maxxie Oliver, Generation 1)
Mitch might be best known since Skins for ITV's short-lived series Britannia High, which pre-dated Glee in attempting to cash in on the success of High School Musical. After a quiet period, he returned in 2014 film Behaving Badly (co-starring Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber, no less). Last year, he featured in the horror movie Nightlight. He was also in the Take That musical Never Forget back in 2009. (Which we'd forgotten, ironically.)
20. LARISSA WILSON (Jal Frazer, Generation 1)
Larissa has worked steadily since Skins finished, appearing on Sky1's Trollied in 2012, opposite Andrew Scott in ITV's The Town in 2012, and improvising on Channel 5's unscripted crime drama Suspects in 2014. She's remained quiet since then.
19. APRIL PEARSON (Michelle Richardson, Generation 1)
After playing sassy 'Nips', April reunited with Skins co-creator Bryan Elsley in 2013 for an episode of his Channel 4 romantic drama Dates. Last year, she appeared opposite actor and pop icon Martin Kemp in the Taken-style British thriller Age of Kill. This year, she will feature alongside former EastEnders star Louisa Lytton in the indie movie Fractured.
18. SAM JACKSON (Alex Henley, Generation 3)
Sam later took on the lead role of Billy in a 2013 stage production of Kes, and that same year held recurring roles on both Holby City and E4's sitcom Drifters.
17. LILY LOVELESS (Naomi Campbell, Generation 2)
Lily has gone on to feature in several big projects including The Fades (opposite Joe Dempsie), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2011), DCI Banks (2014) and 2015 Brit flick Set the Thames on Fire opposite Noel Fielding. More recently, she has appeared in episodes of Cuffs and The Musketeers.
16. ALEX ARNOLD (Rich Hardbeck, Generation 3)
Alex featured in last year's huge hit Poldark, playing the tragic Jim Carter. Before that, he had a small but memorable role as a PDS sufferer (Partially Deceased Syndrome) in BBC Three's In The Flesh and starred in BBC One's grimy whodunnit What Remains.
15. JESSICA SULA (Grace Blood, Generation 3)
After a supporting role in ITV's 2013 romantic comedy Love and Marriage, Jessica cracked America for a lead role in ABC Family's drama Recovery Road, appearing opposite Sebastian de Souza (more on him later). She also features in M Night Shyamalan's Split.
14. WILL MERRICK (Alo Creevey, Generation 3)
Will narrowly missed out of the part of Pythagoras in the BBC's fantasy series Atlantis – though he later guested on the show as that character's brother Arcas. He also appeared in an episode of Doctor Who in 2013, and that same year reunited with his former co-star Mavor in Ella Hickson's play Boys. He most recently played Steve Davis in the iPlayer drama The Rack Pack. He also appears in the Ann Summers-themed drama Brief Encounters and had a small role in About Time.
13. DAKOTA BLUE RICHARDS (Franky Fitzgerald, Generation 3)
Already a child star after making her screen debut in 2007's The Golden Compass by the time Skins came calling, Dakota followed this up with a role on ITV's 2013 supernatural drama Lightfields. Last year, she made her stage debut in a tour of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and joined detective serial Endeavour in 2016.
12. SEAN TEALE (Nick Levan, Generation 3)
Like Kathryn Prescott, Sean appeared as a regular in The CW's period drama Reign and recently booked the lead role in Syfy's new pilot Incorporated, produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. He also regularly appeared in Mr Selfridge, and he starred alongside Pierce Brosnan in 2015's Survivor. He will also soon appear with Paul McGann and Tom Bateman in the thriller B&B.
11. SEBASTIAN DE SOUZA (Matty Levan, Generation 3)
Sebastian has reunited with Skins castmate Jessica Sula on Recovery Road, a teen drama based on Blake Nelson's young adult novel of the same name. He also co-wrote the upcoming movie Kids in Love, in which he stars opposite Will Poulter and Cara Delevingne. Before all this, he had the recurring role of Alfonso of Aragon in The Borgias.
10. LUKE PASQUALINO (Freddie Mclair, Generation 2)
Like can currently be seen as the dashing d'Artagnan on BBC One's The Musketeers – which recently returned for a third and final series. He's also appeared in the Battlestar Galactica prequel Blood & Chrome and the acclaimed 2013 sci-fi film Snowpiercer.
9. FREYA MAVOR (Mini McGuinness, Generation 3)
Not only did she reunite with Will Merrick on Boys, Freya starred in two films in 2013 - romantic comedy Not Another Happy Ending with Karen Gillan, and feel-good musical Sunshine on Leith. Last year, she landed the female lead in HBO pilot Virtuoso - a period drama about musical prodigies, produced by none other than Elton John. She also led the cast of the thriller The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, and has a couple of projects in the works including The Sense of an Ending alongside Michelle Dockery.
8. AIMEE-FFION EDWARDS (Sketch, Generation 1)
Since playing the unusual Sketch in series 1, Welsh actress Aimee-Ffion has featured in some of the very best that British telly has to offer - including Luther, The Detectorists, Inside No. 9, and last year's award favourite Wolf Hall. Since 2013, she has also been a regular in Peaky Blinders as Esme.
7. KATHRYN PRESCOTT (Emily Fitch, Generation 2)
Kathryn is currently the lead star of MTV's hit mystery drama Finding Carter in the US. She has also had roles in the period drama Reign for The CW and in the mini-series The Dovekeepers for CBS. She will also appear in Lucy Hale's comedy film Dude, alongside Keanu Reeves and Lily Collins in To The Bone, and in the upcoming series 24: Legacy.
6. HANNAH MURRAY (Cassie Ainsworth, Generation 1)
Hannah reprised her role as Cassie in 2013, but between her two Skins stints she had twice appeared opposite Doctor Who star Matt Smith - on stage in 2008's acclaimed West End production of That Face and in the 2010 sci-fi movie Womb. She is now best known for playing ex-wildling Gilly in Game of Thrones. She is also rumoured to star in next year's project from Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow.
5. JOE DEMPSIE (Chris Miles, Generation 1)
DS readers voted tragic party boy Chris the greatest Skins character of all time in 2013, and Joe has since become another Skins star who found fame in Westeros, playing the pivotal role of Gendry on Game of Thrones. We're still hoping he'll row his way back on our screens very soon. Elsewhere, he featured in This Is England '86 and '90, The Fades, Murder: Joint Enterprise and Southcliffe.
4. DEV PATEL (Anwar Kharral, Generation 1)
Dev had a meteoric rise to superstardom soon after playing joker Anwar. After a breakthrough Hollywood role in 2008's Slumdog Millionaire, he appeared in 2010's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, as well as 2015's Chappie. He was also a series regular on HBO's Aaron Sorkin series The Newsroom. His next project is the lead in the Garth Davis drama Lion alongside Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara. Let's just pretend The Last Airbender didn't happen.
3. JACK O'CONNELL (James Cook, Generation 2)
Jack has had huge success since 2013, the same year he reprised his role one last time as brash Cook. He won much acclaim for his performance in the prison drama Starred Up, and followed this up with big-screen outings in '71 and Angelina Jolie's Unbroken. He recently shared the screen with Julia Roberts and George Clooney in Money Monster, and he will soon star in WWII drama HHhH alongside Rosamund Pike, and romantic period drama Tulip Fever with Alicia Vikander.
2. KAYA SCODELARIO (Effy Stonem, Generation 2)
Rising star Kaya made the most of early movie roles in 2009's Moon and 2011's Wuthering Heights, and she soon won a hit franchise - she starred in 2014's The Maze Runner and its sequel The Scorch Trials. She'll return for The Death Cure in 2018, and she's also going to be the female lead in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales. And let's not forget she starred in the video for 'Candy' by Robbie Williams.
1. NICHOLAS HOULT (Tony Stonem, Generation 1)
Nicholas has fully shaken off his About a Boy child star days, and since playing bad boy Tony, he's become a major Hollywood player. He's had leading roles in the epic Mad Max: Fury Road and the book adaptations Dark Places and Kill Your Friends. He's now best known for playing Hank McCoy / The Beast in the X-Men films - recently reprising the role again in X-Men: Apocalypse. He has several projects in the pipeline including The Death and Life of John F. Donovan with Kit Harington, war drama Sand Castle with Henry Cavill, action thriller Collide with Felicity Jones, and will play J D Salinger in Rebel in the Rye. Plus, he went out with Jennifer Lawrence for a while, so that's a bonus.
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