There was no protection for teens on Skins, now I won’t tolerate bad behaviour & have strict rules, says Kaya Scodelario

THE Gentlemen actress Kaya Scodelario has hit out at Skins for a lack of safeguarding behind-the-scenes for its teenage cast.

The Effy Stonem star rose to fame as the protagonist of the 2007 E4 drama series, which followed students at a Bristol sixth form.

It's meant that Kaya, 32, has strict rules now she's all grown up, to make sure there are "no a***holes" working around her.

She told Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett on the Dish podcast: "Back then there wasn't the same amount of safeguarding with young actors."

Recalling how radio presenter Nick, 39, once interviewed her as a teen, she added: "He interviewed me when I was about 15, I was underage at a festival, and I was really drunk.

"There wasn't anyone checking in if we were OK… Nick is to me such a memory of my early career - he was like a safe place, kind and gentle."

Kaya continued: "I vet everyone first [when I go onto a new set].

"I just make sure they're not an a***hole. I have a genuine no a***hole policy and I will not give my time to people that think they can behave like that any more.

"I've met so many incredible actors and directors that don't behave like that, that are kind, good people and also produce good work, so there's no excuse for it.

"There used to be, when I started out, it was like, ‘Oh, it's, you know, it's Jack the Lad behaviour' or 'it's because he's intense’, and no.

"Be a nice person, be respectful, be kind, because I’m too long in the tooth, I can’t be a****. I don't want to be around bad energy.

"And I'm too aggressive, I'll kick off, which is not good. It’s not good. It's very nineties to be an arsehole."

It's not the first time former Skins cast have come forward to talk about the lack of safeguarding for its young stars behind cameras.

In 2021, two of the stars of the series spoke out about their experience in a podcast - describing it as "traumatising".

April Pearson, who played Michelle, opened up about filming sex scenes on her podcast Are You Michelle From Skins.

She said: "At the time you're young and you don't know any better.

"You don't really know what to say, to speak out, is this okay… And as with a lot of victims of trauma, you look back at it and think: 'Yeah, that was f***ed up.'

"'There's a difference between being officially old enough and mentally old enough.

"I was having this conversation with my husband and I was saying I do feel like I was too young, I feel like I wasn't protected."

While her co-star Laya Lewis, who was 18 at the time of filming, added: "If you want to pluck children out of the street, which is essentially what they were doing to have this authentic onscreen thing going on, there needs to be a bit more help."

The pair also alleged that young girls were body-shamed on the show's set, and asked to line up in bikinis to have their bodies checked.

April said: "There was one point where we were told to skip breakfast, and for dinner we should just have a jacket potato."

Laya added that girls were lined up and told "if [they] looked good enough to film in Morocco" in swimwear.

She added: "I will never forget that moment. At the time I thought it was horrible, but I think it's so much fucking worse now."

A representative told us at the time: "We're deeply and unambiguously sorry that any cast member was made to feel uncomfortable or inadequately respected in their work during their time on Skins.

"We're committed to continually evolving safe, trustworthy and enjoyable working conditions for everyone who works in the TV industry.'"

Skins was created by father and son duo Jamie Brittain and Bryan Elsley, and ran from 2007 to 2013.

Dish from Waitrose is available on all podcast providers.