Kaya Scodelario calls out Skins for a lack of 'safeguarding' for young cast

Kaya Scodelario has reflected on her time as a young actor on Skins, recalling how she and her castmates did not receive enough “safeguarding” while starring on the series.

The TV star, 32, rose to fame playing teen runaway Effy Stonem on the E4 teen drama which followed the lives of students during their two years at a Bristol sixth form.

The show, crafted by father-son duo Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain served as a launching pad for numerous British actors such as Daniel Kaluuya, Nicholas Hoult, Dev Patel, and Scodelario.

Skins, which aired from 2007 to 2013, was often considered a controversial and extreme portrayal of teen life as it explored storylines around sex, substance abuse, depression and suicide.

Reflecting on that period of her life, Scodelario appeared on the Dish podcast with Nick Grimshaw and Angela Harnett and recalled meeting Grimshaw during that time in the late 2000s.

The Maze Runner actress thanked the presenter for treating her teenage self with kindness, contrasting it with other press encounters.

She shared: ““You really encapsulate that time for me and it’s such a pleasure to see you still thriving and still doing well. It’s true, I really adore that. You were like a safe place for us.

“Back then there wasn’t the same amount of safeguarding with young actors, there wasn’t anyone checking if we were OK.

“But whenever we worked with you, you were always kind and gentle and lovely.”

The Gentleman star has previously discussed her portrayal of Effy, who storylines included a psychotic depression episode and a suicide attempt.

In a TikTok video posted in 2022, the actress reflected on her past work, drawing comparisons to the similarly controversial HBO teen drama Euphoria.

Across the clip, it read: “Watching Euphoria for the first time thinking this is crazy for 17-year-olds then remembering what I was doing on TV at 14.”

The short clip saw her face moving from a shocked expression to one more neutral as she “recalls” her own experience, writing in the caption: “Will always be grateful. But yeah safeguarding really wasn’t a thing back then…”,

In 2021, April Pearson, known for her role as Michelle Richardson, and Laya Lewis, who portrayed Liv Malone, voiced concerns about their treatment during filming.

While Dev Patel, who portrayed Anwar in the series, has also provided insights into his time on the show in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

The Monkey Man star and director recalled attending parties with “just a bunch of kids, our age and older, would come and half of them were drugged off their faces, and [the crew] are like, ‘Just… have fun.’ It was insane. It was really, really insane.”